Maria and Shadow: A ShadMaria story
by SonAmy and ShadMaria fan
Summary: Unable to stand the thought of living on Earth without Maria,Shadow's in a self indused coma.When Sonic and the others find him,knuckles says there's a way to bring Maria back!Can they wake Shadow up to tell him? Pairings:SonAmy,ShadMaria slight KnuRouge
1. The Truth About Shadow and Maria

Maria and Shadow: A ShadMaria story

" Blah blah" Speaking

' Blah blah' Thoughts

Disclamer: Sonic X and its characters copyright Sonic Team.

My first story, please be kind. I know its a little different form the series, but it is fanfiction. No flames, please.

CHECK OUT MY PROFILE FOR OTHER STORIES!! YA' GOTTA TELL ME IF YA' WANNA READ 'EM!!

CHAPTER ONE : THE TRUTH ABOUT SHADOW AND MARIA

Its been six months sence the ark incident and Shadow hasent been found. Theres been sightings, but nothing to prove hes alive for sure. Because of the sightings, every time sonic went running, he'd look for Shadow.

"Still no sign of Shadow?" Tails asked. Sonic shook his head.

"No, still nothin'. But hes out there somewhere." Sonic said.

"What makes you think people really saw him?" Amy asked.

"I'm not sure. Its just a feeling." Sonic said. "Sonic!! Come outside,hurry!" Chris yelled. (This is the only time hes in the story)

Sonic, Amy and Tails ran outside.Chris , Cream and Cheese were outside, Shadow being carried on Chris back.

"You found Shadow?!" Amy said loudly.

"Yeah, Cheese found him and came to get us." Cream said.

"Lets get him inside,he looks hurt." Tails said.

About a half hour later, the doctor finished examining Shadow. "Besides some minor cuts and bruises, Shadows fine. There's no sign of concusion or any other reason why he'd be uncontious." The doctor said.

"Then why isen't he awake?" Amy asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea. Unless, he's been through some sort of tramatic incident recently." The doctor said.

"Dose loosing his best friend count?"Amy asked.

"That could be it." The doctor said. He walked off to talk to the nurse.

"How could loosing Maria still be that hard on Shadow after 50 years?" Knuckles asked.

"Shadow was in suspended animation for all this time. To him, Maria died yesterday." Tails said.

"They must've been really close" Amy said.

"So, its true." Rouge said.

"Hey Rouge." Sonic said.

"Shadow's still alive after all." Rouge said.

"Yeah, but sence he misses Maria so much, he's in a self induced coma." Tails said.

The group walked into Shadows room. "Even in the state he's in, he still looks upset." Amy said.

"He's probably haveing a bad dream." Cream said.

"Even if he woke up, Maria'd still be gone." Sonic said.

"Maybe not." Knuckles said.

"What?!"The others said loudly.

"If Shadow's fealings for Maria are strong enuff, the Master Emerald might bring her back." Knuckles said.

"Really?!" Amy asked loudly.

"Yeah. The Master Emerald can grant any wish once every 1,000 years, depending on how badly the person wants it." Knuckles said.

"So, Maria could be brought back?" Sonic asked.

"If Shadow wants it bad enuff." Knuckles said.

"But, Shadow dosen't know that. And theres no way to wake him up."Tails said.

"He'll wake up, eventually." Knuckles said.

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Rouge walked out of the room.

"Ya' comin' Amy?" Sonic asked.

"Naw. If Shadow wakes up, I can fill him in." Amy said.

"Okay." Sonic said,walking off.

A few minutes later: Amy heard Shadow talking in his sleep.

"Maria..." He said, quietly

"Poor thing. He must really miss her." Amy said.

(In Shadows dream)

"Maria! Come back!" Shadow yelled, running through a forest, after Maria.

"I'm right here. You don't have to yell." Maria said, sitting under a tree.

"Why'd you run off like that?" Shadow asked, walking over to Maria.

"I saw some scientists spying on us, so I ran. I knew you'd follow me" Maria said.

"They'll just come looking for us." Shadow said.

"Not for a whiel. They wouldn't make it so obvious that they were watching us." Maria said.

Shadow sat down beside Maria and she took his hand.

"I don't want to leave here. Its getting harder for us to be together. My grandfather always has you tied up in some kind of test." Maria said.

"I know, he's trying to keep us apart. Maybe he knows how we really feel about eachother." Shadow said, with a smile.

"I don't think so...he dose suspect it though. If Grandfather knew for sure, he'd probably make us see a doctor to determine if we had a mental problem." Maria said, trying not to laugh.

"Its not that crazy." Shadow said.

"Not to us, but if anyone else knew, they'd never let us see eachother again." Maria said.

"I won't let that happen. I won't let anyone take you away from me." Shadow said coming closer to Maria.

"I know." Maria said, resting her head on Shadows shoulder.

(End dream)

"Maria..." Shadow said, quietly in his sleep.

"Shadow, come on! This isen't helping, ya' know! You'd see her again if you'd just wake up."Amy said.

"Maria...I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you" Shadow said, quietly.

He blames himself... Amy thought.

"I never got tell you...how I really feel. You knew, but I never said, 'I love you'." Shadow said, quietly.

Amy gasped.He was in love with her! And he didn't tell her. No wonder he's so torn up about Maria's death!'She thought. "Shadow, wake up! You've got a second chance with Maria! You can bring her back!" Amy said, loudly.

About an hour later, Shadow still haden't woken up.

"(sigh) The only person that could wake you up is Maria. The problem is you gotta wake up before you can see her again!" Amy said, getting more frustrated by the minute.

(In Shadow's dream)

"Shadow, listen to me. In about one minute, that capsule will take you to Earth." Maria said.

"I'm not going without you!" Shadow said, loudly.

"Its too late for me. But, you can still make it to Earth. You were created to help people on Earth."Maria said.

"I won't leave you here! I'll use my chaos control to come get you!!" Shadow yelled.

"Without a chaos emerald? There's not much time left so just let me say this. Weve been friends for a long time and even though we never actully said it, we both know were more then friends. I can't help but wonder...if this is fate's way of telling us we're crazy."Maria said.

"Crazy or not, I know how I feel! That's why I can't leave you here!!" Shadow yelled.

"You have to go! Promise me...you'll try to help people and be friends with them." Maria said.

"I promise, Maria." Shadow said.

"Don't forget me..." Maria said.

"Never." Shadow said.

"I...I love you, Shadow" Maria said, then blew Shadow a kiss. She passed out before Shadow could respond.

"MARIA!!" Shadow yelled.

(End Chap ONE)

So... What'd think?! PLEEEEAAAASE REVIEW!! I GOTTA KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!

On to chapter two: Maria's back!


	2. Maria's Back!

Konichiwa! Enjoy chapter two!

Disclamer: I don't own them, Sonic Team dose.

CHAPTER 2: Maria's back!

(Still in Shadow's dream) Shadow was laying on his back, looking at the stars. "How am I supposed to go on without you? All the times we talked about living on Earth, we were going to be together." Shadow said to himself. "It wasen't supposed to be like this!!" He yelled.

"I know." Maria said, appearing beside Shadow.

"I can't do this. I can't live on Earth without you, Maria. You're supposed to be with me!" Shadow said tearing up.

"I'm still am, in your heart." Maria said. "Its not the same and you know it!" Shadow said, sitting up.

"Dose that mean you need me?" Maria asked, Trying to hide a smile.

Shadow blushed slightly. "I guess so..." He said, quietly.

"Listen carefully: go to Angel Island, find Knuckles. He guards the Master Emerald, it has the power to bring me back. However,because its been fifty years sence I died, there will be a price. Ya' up for it?" Maria said.

"Anything to bring you back." Shadow said.

"See you soon!" Maria said, disappearing.

(End dream)

Amy heard Shadow groan, quietly.

He slowly opened his eyes.

"Its about time!" Amy said with a smile.

"Amy Rose, right?" Shadow asked.

"Yep. How do you feel?" Amy said.

"A little groggy, but fine other wise." Shadow said.

Amy got out her cell phone and called Sonic.

"Hey, are the others with you? Great! Shadow's awake so high tail it over here!" Amy said, then hung up.

"Have you ever heard of Angel Island?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, my friend Knuckles lives there. Oh, that reminds me..." Amy said. She filled Shadow in on the plan to bring Maria back.

After Amy finished explaining, Sonic and the others arrived. "Hey Shadow, long time no see." Sonic said, with a small wave.

"Not you again..." Shadow said, looking away.

"Nice to see you too." Sonic said, with a hint of sarcasm.

About an hour and a half later: they arrived at Angel Island.

'It won't be long now...' Shadow thought.

Amy sighed quietly. 'I wonder...What would Sonic do if I died? Would he miss me like Shadow misses Maria?' She thought.

"Here we are. Shadow, you have to go alone from here." Knuckles said.

Shadow nodded and walked up the stairs to the Master Emerald.

"What is your wish?" A voice asked.

"I wish for my Maria to be brought back to life." Shadow said.

"Hmm...she's been dead for fifty years. I cannot bring her back the way she was. I will bring her back, but she will be aged one year for every decade (A/N:Ten years) she was dead. Do you still want her back? " The voice said.

"More then anything." Shadow said.

"Very well." The voice said.

A now teenage Maria slowly appeared.

She had on a light blue sleeveless shirt and faded blue jeans. Sound asleep, she slowly fell into Shadow's arms. "Maria...Maria, wake up." Shadow said quietly, tearing up.

"Uh...Shadow...?" Maria said,wakeing up.

Tears ran down Shadow's face.(A/N: I'm tearing up just writeing it!TT)

"Maria...you're really back..." Shadow said, holding Maria tight.

Maria hugged Shadow and started crying too. 'Don't ever leave me again.'Shadow thought.

"I missed you so much!" Maria said, crying harder.

"I missed you too, Maria." Shadow said, rubbing Maria's back.

"Maria..." Shadow said quietly, holding Maria closer.

"Shadow...too tight." Maria said, quietly.

"Sorry!" Shadow said, loosening his grip quickly.

"I forgot how strong you are." Maria said. She wiped Shadow's tears away and kissed him on the cheek. "You cried for me..." Maria

teased.

"Maybe..." Shadow said, a little embarrassed.

"Wanna go 'meet 'n' greet' with your friends?" Maria asked.

"Not yet...I just got you back. I don't want to share you yet" Shadow said, holding Maria closer.

A couple of minutes later: Shadow and Maria walked down the stairs together.

"Everyone, this is Maria. Maria, this is everyone." Shadow said.

After the introductions: "So, you're Maria. Man, you shoulda' heard Shadow talkin' about how much he missed you. All that trouble to trying avenge her death, only to bring her back. Now, I bet you're really glad we stoped you back on Ark, huh?" Sonic said.

"Shut up..." Shadow said, quietly.

"Shadow, what'd you do?" Maria asked, suspisiously.

"Well...uh..." Shadow hesitated.

"Shadow, you didn't... sigh I told you before, 'be happy on Earth'. I didn't want you to get revenge." Maria said.

"I know...but I couldn't stand being on Earth without you. Then I realized, if it wasen't for those soldiers, you'd still be alive.

But, in the end, Sonic and the others stopped me. They reminded me that you wouldn't want revenge. Will you forgive me, Maria?" Shadow said.

"Of course I forgive you." Maria said, and kissed him on the cheek.

Shadow blushed.

A few minutes later, the group headed back to Chris' house. (A/N:Last time he is mentioned)

Tails flew the plane, Sonic sat behind him, Amy was in the back. Rouge and Knuckles on one wing, Shadow and Maria on the other.

"I'm so glad you're back. I missed you so much." Shadow said.

"Same here" Maria said, with a smile.

Shadow put his arm around Maria and pulled her closer. "Be careful not to fall." Shadow said.

Amy sighed quietly, watching Shadow and Maria.

I wonder if Sonic will ever hold me like that.' She thought,glanceing at Sonic.

He noticed Amy was glanceing at him. "Somethin' wrong Amy?" Sonic asked.

"Uh, no...its nothing." Amy said. Maria's so lucky, she knows Shadow feels the same way about her. I'm not sure Sonic will ever see me as more then a friend. She thought.

(End chap. 2)

Do ya' like it so far? I'll post chapter three (maybe four too) by 3/22. REVIEW PLEASE!!!


	3. Remembering The Confession Of Love

I'm BACK! Enjoy chapter three! PLEEEEEAAAASE REVIEW!!

Chapter three: Remembering the confession of love on Ark.

About an hour later: Sonic and the others were at Chris' house. (There's no way around mentioning him again...)

Amy finished explaining how Maria was brought back to life.

"Oh, you poor thing! You been through so much for someone so young! First what happened on Ark, then being brought back to life after 50 years! Now, you're 17 instead of 12!" Ella said.

"Its not that bad. As long as Shadow with me, I can handle anything." Maria said.

"That's so sweet!" Rouge said.

"Well, in honor of your return, you choose what's for dinner tonight." Ella said.

"That's really not necessary..." Maria said.

"I insist." Ella said.

Maria sighed. "Is deep dish veggie pizza all right?" Maria asked.

"And dessert?" Ella asked.

"Neapolitan ice cream. Its my favorite." Maria said.

"Neapolitan? Never heard of it." Ella said.

"Its not a common flavor. Its strawberry, chocolate and vanilla." Maria said.

"Huh, strange name but it sounds good. Dinner's at 7:00." Ella said, and walked off.

"Shadow-san!" Cream yelled, running up to the group. "It worked! The Master Emerald granted your wish!" She said.(She stayed behind when the others went to Angel Island.)

"Maria, this is Cream. Cream, meet Maria." Amy said.

Cream curtsied.

"How cute! So polite. Nice to meet you, Cream." Maria said, extending her hand to Cream.

"Nice to meet you to." Cream said taking Maria's hand.

Rouge glanced over at Shadow.

"Hey, Shadow, mind if we borrow Maria for a minutes? We need to get her room ready and we'll need her opinion." Rouge said.

"30 minutes. I'll come looking for her after 31." Shadow said.

"Well, aren't you the protective one?" Rouge said, a hint of annoyance.

Shadow shot her a 'Don't mess with me' look.

"Fine. Come on girls." Rouge said, annoyed.

The girls headed upstairs.

"Okay, we don't have allot of time. But, you need to know the basics." Rouge said.

"The basics of what?" Maria asked.

"The basics of dealing with guys." Amy said.

Maria looked confused.

"My mother told me this saying when I first started liking guys. Ever since then, its been great advice." Rouge said.

"I think its good advice, too. Even if Sonic and I aren't dating...YET." Amy said,emphasizing 'yet'.

"Okay, what is it?" Maria asked.

Rouge turned around, to see if see guys were out of hearing range.

"They tell you this, they tell you that, with their fingers crossed behind their backs.

'But, I'm different.' is what they claim. But, all ya' got is they're all the same." Rouge said.

(A/N: Yes, that's from a 'PLAY' song. Its the only thing I could think of that fit.)

"Boys lie." Cream said.

"Believe me, its the best thing I've ever heard when it comes to guys." Rouge said.

"But, its a little unfair to the guys, isn't it?" Maria asked.

"Better safe then sorry." Rouge said.

"Since when do you play it safe?" Amy asked, in a teasing tone.

"Never do. But, you girls might want to. Especially you, Maria." Rouge said.

"Huh? Why me?" Maria asked.

Rouge hesitated, thinking of how to word it.

"I can tell Shadow's crazy about you. He's also very passionate about you. That could be trouble." Rouge said.

Maria looked even more confused.

"How could that be trouble?" Maria asked.

'Is she really this naive?' Rouge thought.

"He might wanna make-out with you." Amy said, simply.

Maria froze, her face turning red.

"WHAT?!" Maria said loudly, partially covering her face with her hands.

Rouge and Amy practically dragged Maria into one of the rooms upstairs.

'Good thing I didn't tell her my theory. That might've killed her.' Rouge thought, shutting the dour behind them.

"You can't be serious!" Maria said loudly, sitting on the bed.

"Why not? Boyfriends are like that." Rouge said.

"But...I...we aren't officially a couple." Maria said.

"Huh? Seemed pretty official to me." Amy said.

"Its complicated..." Maria said, quietly.

"We're listening." Rouge said.

"Well, I guess it was about six months before Ark was shut down. I noticed Shadow was

acting differently, like he was hiding something. Then, I caught him sneaking into my room at night. Nothing serious, just watching me sleep." Maria said.

"What'd he say when you caught him?" Rouge asked.

"He started blushing and said he wanted to be closer to me." Maria said, her blush starting to fade.

"How cute! What'd you do?" Amy asked.

"I knew if I told my grandfather, he'd post guards outside the dour! So, I didn't tell anyone.

I let Shadow stay in my room whenever he wanted. But, I knew he was still hiding something. About

three weeks later, when Shadow came in my room, he looked nervous." Maria said.

(Flash Back)

"Shadow, are you all right?" Maria asked.

Shadow looked at the floor and rocked back on his heels slightly.

"Not really. I hate keeping secrets from you...especially this." Shadow said.

"What is it?" Maria asked.

"My feelings for you have changed. I've known for a while, and I tried to fight it but... the only way I could think of to change my feelings, was to stay away from you. But, I couldn't even stand the thought of being away from you." Shadow said.

Maria knew where this was going. She'd felt the same way and never mentioned it to anyone.

Maria motioned for Shadow to sit beside her on her bed.

Shadow walked over her and sat her.

He hesitantly looked at Maria.

"I know it might be wrong, but my feelings for you are stronger then friendship. Maria, I'm..."

"Don't say it!" Maria cut him off by putting her fingers to Shadow's lips.

"Don't say you're in love with me. Once you say it, sooner or later, you'll say it again. Someone else might hear it and tell my grandfather. Then, we'd never see each other again." Maria said, removing her.

Maria's eyes filled with tears, seeing the look of rejection in Shadow's eyes.

Shadow started to leave, but Maria grabbed his hand.

"But, that doesn't mean we can't feel this way about each other. We just can't let anyone else know about it." Maria said.

"'We'" Shadow asked, a little confused.

"I thought it was just me that felt like this. I didn't know you felt the same way about me." Maria said, quietly.

Shadow pulled Maria into his arms, hugging her.

A few minutes later, when Maria pulled away slightly, Shadow kissed her gently.

Thirty seconds later, Maria pulled away, blushing bright red.

"That's worse then saying 'I love you.'." Maria said.

"Too late, now." Shadow said, with a smile.

(End Flash Back)

"So, thats how it happened." Rouge said.

"Yeah, that's the only time we kissed and we had to be really careful not to let anyone find out about us. But, I think my grandfather suspected it anyway." Maria said.

"Well, you're together now. And now you don't have to hide your relationship." Amy said.

"Yeah. Uh-oh, we've only got ten minutes to find you a room before time's up." Rouge said.

"Uh-oh, we better hurry!" Cream said.

To Be continued...

Let me know what you think! REVIEW PLEASE!!!!

Chapter four up A.S.A.P!!


	4. The Kiss GoodNight

I want to elaborate on something Shadow said in the previous chapter

"I know it might be wrong, but my feelings for you are stronger then friendship."

Shadow is referring more to the age difference then the species difference. I didn't think Maria being human would bother him. Technically, Shadow is about 16 - 18, while Maria was only 12.

BTW: -san is MS. or MR. in Japanese.

CHAPTER FOUR: The Kiss Good-Night.

Maria, Amy and Rouge were looking for a room for Maria. Cream went off to get blankets and things like that.

"I'm guessing you and Shadow will want to be next dour to each other." Amy said.

"That's probably a good idea. Knowing Shadow, he'll come to check on me." Maria said.

"These two are perfect then, they're connected." Rouge said, going through a dour they hadn't noticed earlier.

"Now, Shadow can see you whenever he wants to." Rouge said.

"Great, wait...is that a good thing?" Maria said.

"Uh...maybe not. It has a lock though." Rouge said.

"It would worry him if I locked it and he'd just break it down." Maria said.

"Yeah, he's gonna be over-protective for a while, I can tell." Rouge said.

"How much time is left?" Amy asked.

"Three and a half minutes." Cream said, walking in carrying blankets, pillows, and sheets piled on top of her.

"Whoa!" Rouge said, catching Cream's pile as it started to fall.

"I thought I shouldn't let you go alone." Rouge said.

"Sorry, Rouge-san." Cream said.

"We're gonna need more time. Maria, can you go tell Shadow? He won't take it well from any of us." Amy said.

"Al right. I'll be right back." Maria said, walking off.

Meanwhile: Sonic was picking on Shadow.

"Shadow and Maria sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Sonic said, with a grin.

Shadow sat there, arms crossed, eyes shut in an attempt to ignore him.

"Aw, lighten up Shadow. Its nothing to be embarrassed about. We think its great that you and Maria are together again." Knuckles said.

"Yeah, we're happy for you." Tails said.

"Hey Shadow, Wanna hear the rest of that saying?" Sonic asked, grinning.

"No." Shadow said.

"Too bad! First comes love, then comes..."

Shadow punched Sonic.

"Grow up." Shadow said.

"Ow! That was not necessary!" Sonic said, loudly.

"Hey, Shadow can we talk for a second?" Maria asked.

"Ooh, Shadow's in trouble!" Sonic said.

"Shut up." Shadow said, walking over to Maria.

"Its gonna take longer then we thought to get our rooms set up. We need more time." Maria said.

Shadow sighed quietly. "Fine." Shadow said, starting to walk off.

Maria hugged him.

"Thanks." She said and kissed him on the cheek.

Shadow blushed slightly.

"Yeah, just don't take too long." Shadow said.

Maria let Shadow go and ran back upstairs.

"Okay, no time limit this time." She said.

"Great, We're almost done though." Amy said.

"Now, we need to find P.J.'s for you." Rouge said, heading to her room.

Amy, Maria and Cream watched as Rouge threw some clothes on the bed.

"You maybe taller then me, but I like my sleep wear baggy so its always over-sized. It should balance out." Rouge said.

They decided on a pink, short-sleeved shirt with black shorts. They fit perfectly.

"I like 'em. Pink's a good color for you." Amy said.

"Yeah." Cream said.

"I agree." Maria said.

"Good. Now, we should get back to the guys." Rouge said.

Maria changed clothes and the girls headed downstairs.

"Its about time." Sonic said, seeing the girls.

"Dose that mean you missed me?" Amy asked, sitting beside Sonic.

"Uh, so Maria, what's it like to be back after 50 years?" Sonic asked, a little nervous.

"Its strange...its like I never left. I know about cell phones, even though I've never seen one until today. Its more like I went to summer camp then being dead for 50 years." Maria said.

Shadow tensed a little. He didn't like being reminded that Maria'd been dead until today.

'Shadow...' Maria thought.

She held Shadow's hand and smiled at him.

Shadow smiled a little, no one else even noticed it.

The rest of the night was uneventful, until...

"Take it back!" Shadow said, loudly.

Shadow had sonic in a choke hold.

"I was just kidding!" Sonic said.

"Don't make me hurt you!" Shadow said, loudly.

"Okay, I'm sorry!" Sonic said.

"What did he do?" Rouge asked.

"Tell them!" Shadow said, loudly.

"I just said I didn't now why Maria would like him so much." Sonic said, with a smirk.

"He said if I wasn't careful, he might steal Maria away from me!" Shadow said.

"Sonic!!" Amy yelled.

"It was a joke!" Sonic said, loudly.

Amy hit Sonic with her Piko-Piko hammer anyway.

Later that night, around 12:00, Maria couldn't sleep.

She walked onto a small balcony and looked at the sky.

"So, this is how the stars look from Earth..." Maria said to herself.

Shadow walked up behind Maria, but stood a few feet away.

It was the firth time he could get a good look at her without anyone noticing.

'She's gotten taller.' Shadow thought.

Maria's hair was a little longer then he remembered.

'Maria has changed...curves and all.' Shadow thought, blushing slightly.

Since Maria was older now, Shadow didn't feel guilty about how he felt about Maria.

The age difference wasn't an issue anymore.

Shadow gave Maria another once over before saying anything.

"You really have changed, haven't you?" Shadow said.

Maria turned to face him.

"Not really. I still feel the same, anyway." Maria said.

Shadow walked over to Maria and sat on the railing of the balcony, making him a couple of inches 'taller' then her.

Shadow held Maria's hand gently.

"I'm sorry...I couldn't save you..." Shadow said, sadly.

"Shadow..." Maria said, quietly. She couldn't stand to see Shadow like that.

She kissed Shadow hard, trying to distract him from the memories of her death.

A few seconds later, Maria pulled away.

"Its not your fault! Besides, I'm here now, so stop torturing yourself!" Maria said.

She kissed him again.

Her idea worked, easily distracting Shadow.

When Maria pulled away, her whole face turned crimson.

"I can't believe I did that!!" Maria said, turning away.

"That makes two of us." Shadow said, a little embarrassed.

He smiled, slightly.

"Come here, Maria." Shadow said, quietly.

Maria's blush stayed a rose-pink color on her cheeks, but had faded from the rest of her face.

She turned to face Shadow.

He reached out his hand to Maria and she took it.

Shadow pulled her into his arms, holding her close.

"I want to tell you...I want to tell you how I feel. I don't want to hide it anymore. I don't

care if the whole world finds out about us. I love you, Maria." Shadow said.

"I love you too, Shadow." Maria said, blushing darker.

They kissed again.

When they broke the kiss, they watched the stars, as they'd done so many times back on Ark.

SO...What'cha think?!

You know the drill, Read and Review.

Chapter 5 up soon!


	5. Sonic's Confession

KONICHIWA!! I'M BACK!! Hope you like this one. I know the SonAmy fans will! Naturally, cute stuff with Shadow and Maria is in here too. Enjoy! READ AND REVIEW, please!

LEMME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

DISCLAMER: Sonic Team owns them.

CHAPTER FIVE: Sonic's Confession

Maria rested her head on Shadow's shoulder and yawned quietly.

"Its late. Come on, your going to bed." Shadow said.

"Okay." Maria said.

They walked back into Maria's room and Shadow tucked her in.

Shadow started to walk off.

"Don't leave..." Maria said, quietly.

Shadow smiled.

"Alright." He said.

Shadow got a chair and put it by the bed.

"You're sleeping in a chair?" Maria asked.

"I've done it before, don't worry about me." Shadow said.

Maria scooted away.

"I'm not letting you sleep in a chair.Yawn Come here." Maria said.

Shadow blushed.

"No way." Shadow said, crossing his arms.

"Why not?" Maria asked.

Shadow blushed darker and turned away.

"Because...Do I have to explain it?!" He said, embarrassed.

"Shadow..." Maria said.

"Not back then and not now!" Shadow said.

Maria groaned and faked passing out.

"Maria? Maria?!" Shadow said, coming back over to the bed.

Maria grabbed him and hugged him.

"Gotcha." She said.

Shadow smiled, slightly

"Cheater." He said.

Maria grinned, laying her head down.

"You're staying put." She said.

"Alright. Goodnight, Maria." Shadow said.

"Goodnight." Maria said, half asleep.

'You'll never know how much I missed you. I'm so glad you're back.' Shadow thought, kissing Maria on the forehead.

THE NEXT MORNING:

Shadow woke up to find Maria gone.

"Maria?" Shadow said, a little worried.

"I'm over here." Maria said, from the balcony.

Shadow sighed, quietly, a little relieved.

Maria suppressed a laugh.

"You thought I was gone again, didn't you?" She asked.

"N-no." Shadow said, looking away.

"Sure you weren't. Well, Rouge and Amy are taking me shopping today." Maria said.

"Fine with me." Shadow said.

"It could take a few hours, ya' know." Maria said.

"I thought it would. But, that's fine with me." Shadow said, walking over to Maria.

'Looks like the over-protective streak is dieing down.' Maria thought.

"So, do we go down together or a few minutes apart?" Maria asked.

"What does it matter?" Shadow asked.

"Well, if we go down together, they'll probably figure out we stayed in the same room. Does that make any difference?" Maria asked.

Shadow thought for a few seconds.

"It would be easier on us if they didn't know. You'll go first." Shadow said.

"Alright." Maria said.

A FEW MINUTES LATER:

Maria went downstairs.

" 'Morning, Maria." Sonic said, grinding on the banister and passing her.

"Good morning, Sonic." Maria said.

Amy yawned, doing some exercises downstairs.

" 'Morning, Amy. Wanna go for a run with me?" Sonic said.

"What?" Amy said, in disbelief.

"I was gonna run around the block a couple times. Wanna join me?" Sonic said.

"Sure!!" Amy said, excited.

Maria giggled quietly, seeing them run off together.

'I haven't been around very long, but from what I know so far, Sonic's not the type to run with anyone.And judging by Amy's reaction, Sonic's asking her to run with him is like asking her on a date.' Maria thought.

"Good morning, Maria." Tails said, when Maria walked into the kitchen.

" 'Morning." Rouge said, with a yawn.

"Good morning, you two." Maria said.

"Where's Shadow? Still worn out from last night?" Rouge said, slyly.

"I wouldn't know. I haven't seen him since last night." Maria said.

"Really?" Rouge asked, not convinced.

"Uh, where's Sonic and Amy? I thought I heard them talking." Tails said, partly to 'rescue' Maria and partly to avoid were that conversation was going for his own embarrassment's sake.

"They went for a run." Maria said.

Rouge choked on her coffee.

"TOGETHER?!" Tails and Rouge yelled.

"Yeah, Sonic asked Amy to go with him." Maria said.

"This is HUGE!" Rouge said, loudly.

"What is?" Cream asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Sonic and Amy went for a run, TOGETHER!" Tails said.

"Really?! Do you know what this means?!" Cream said loudly, perking up.

"I thought it was a big deal. But, isn't this overdoing it?" Maria said.

"Not if Sonic slows down enuff so Amy can keep up." Cream said.

"Sonic's never even asked ME to go for a run with him. When Sonic goes for a run, he goes." Tails said.

A FEW MINUTES LATER:

Shadow came downstairs.

'Where is everyone?' He thought.

He heard Maria laughing from the kitchen.

"He's such a show off sometimes. Its so irritating!" Rouge said.

"Poor Amy." Maria said.

"Yeah, but I think Amy's a good influence on Sonic. His trips are getting shorter. He'd never admit it, but I think Sonic misses Amy when he goes on those trips." Tails.

"I agree." Rouge said.

Shadow walked into the kitchen.

" 'Mornin' sleepy-head." Rouge said.

" 'Morning." Shadow said.

"SONIC, YOU'RE A JERK!!!" Amy yelled, from the back yard.

Maria and the others gathered by the window to see what was going on.

"Aw, come on Amy..." Sonic said, with a nervous laugh.

"DON'T 'come on, Amy' ME!" Amy said loudly, turning her back to Sonic and crossing her arms.

"I was kidding, I'm sorry." Sonic said.

Amy gasped, quietly.

'I don't think Sonic's ever said he was sorry to me before.' She thought.

Sonic looked around.

"Where'd I put it...? I know its around here...There it is!" Sonic said.

He picked up a small box from under a bench.

"Hey, Amy...I..." Sonic said, losing his nerve.

"What?" Amy said irritated, her back still turned.

"Well...I got this for you..." Sonic said, a little nervous.

Amy turned around, arms still crossed.

"Here." Sonic said tossing it to her.

Amy caught it.

"What's this for?" She asked.

"Well...I know I put you through alot...Cream told me how worried you get, so...When I saw it on one of my runs, it seemed perfect for you." Sonic said, blushing slightly and looking away, nervously.

"Aw, isn't that cute?" Rouge said quietly, watching though the window.

Cream and Maria nodded.

Amy opened the box.

A sterling silver necklace with linked hearts, one blue and one pink, was inside.

"Oh, Sonic! Its beautiful, thank you!" Amy said, running to and hugging Sonic.

Sonic put it on Amy.

"Perfect." He said, still blushing.

"I'll never take it off. This way, I'll remember you'll come back." Amy said, a little sad.

"I'll always come back, Amy. You should know that by now." Sonic said.

"I know...but not because of me. I'm always hearing about you stopping by to see Tails or Knuckles...but not me." Amy said.

"Amy..." Sonic said, a little sad.

"Its okay. I know you don't love me. But...I'm okay. As long as I get to see you, I'll be okay." Amy said, tearing up.

"Amy... I'm sorry..." Sonic said.

Amy turned to leave.

Rouge and Cream were the only ones how could hear them at this point.

"What're they saying?! What're they saying?!" Tails and Maria asked, loudly.

"SSSHHHHH!!!" Rouge and Cream said.

Sonic hugged Amy.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner..." Sonic said, quietly.

Amy gasped quietly.

Sonic sighed quietly, gathering his courage.

"I do love you Amy." Sonic said.

Rouge and Cream gasped.

"What'd he say?! What'd he say?!" Tails asked, loudly.

"Hush!!" Rouge and Cream said.

"Wha-what did you say?!" Amy asked, in disbelief.

Sonic blushed.

"I do love you...Amy." Sonic said.

Amy couldn't believe her ears.

"D-do you mean it? Don't tell me 'as a friend' because I couldn't take it!" Amy said.

"Geeze, I gotta spell it out?" Sonic asked, a little irritated.

Knuckles joined the spectators inside.

"What's goin' on?" He asked.

"Be quiet!" Cream said.

Sonic kissed Amy!!

Knuckles and Tails fell to the ground.

"Am I seeing things?!" They asked, loudly.

"SSSHHH!! Cream said.

Sonic pulled away, blushing crimson.

Tears ran down Amy's face.

"Sonic!" Amy said, hugging him tightly.

"You do love me! I'm so happy!!" Amy said.

"Amy...a little tight..." Sonic said.

"Oh, sorry! I'm just so happy!" Amy said, loosening her grip.

"Sheesh, you cry when you're happy and sad. Girls..." Sonic said, wiping away Amy's tears.

He held Amy closer.

"But, I love you anyway." Sonic said.

"I love you too, Sonic." Amy said.

They kissed again.

The spectators from inside, even Shadow(quietly) started cheering.

"Its about time you told her!" Knuckles said, loudly.

Sonic heard him and broke the kiss.

"We've been spotted..." Sonic said.

The group inside came out the back dour.

"We've got witnesses, Sonic.So, you can't deny it later." Rouge said.

"How long were you watching us?!" Amy asked, shocked.

"Since: 'Sonic, you're a jerk!!!'." Rouge said.

Amy blushed dark red and rested her head on Sonic's shoulder, with a small smile.

"That makes two couples in the group." Rouge said.

"Maybe three..." Amy said, motioning to Rouge and Knuckles.

"WHAT?!" Knuckles yelled, blushing dark red.

"Look at that, Knuckles actully turned a darker red." Sonic said, with a smirk.

"You turned red too, ya' know!!" Knuckles yelled.

"You do like me!" Rouge teased, hugging Knuckles.

"H-hey!! Don't encourage them!" Knuckles said, embarrassed.

SEE YA' NEXT CHAPTER!! HOPE YOU LIKED IT!!

Chapter Six introduces my O.C. M-Chan!!

IT'll BE UP A.S.A.P!!!


	6. Shopping and Party Planing

I'M BACK!!! Today, you'll be meeting my O.C.: M-Chan!! She's an old friend of Sonic and the others in my story. She's 16, human, and can use magic to grant her wishes.

BTW: Gomen Sorry, Sonikku Japanese pronunciation of Sonic, nandaste what did you say?

CHAPTER SIX: Shopping and Party Planing.

Maria sighed quietly, seeing Sonic and Amy outside.

Sonic and Amy were out in the backyard.

"They're so perfect together." Maria said.

"Yeah, Amy's walkin' on air she's so happy." Rouge said.

"I wonder how long Sonic-san's been in love with Amy-san." Cream said.

"All along I think. He was just too shy or too stubborn to tell her." Tails said.

"Probably." Maria said.

Rouge smiled slyly, looking over at Shadow a few feet away in the living room.

"Hey, Shadow, how long were you in love with Maria before you told her how you felt?" Rouge asked.

Shadow attempted a glare, but his blushing prevented him from looking serious.

"Come on Shadow, tell us. We're all dieing to know." Rouge said, with a smile.

"Rouge, you're embarrassing him." Maria said.

"Well, I'm just curious. After all, we saw Sonic confess to Amy and he might've just been too shy to tell her before. I was wondering how long it took Shadow to tell you." Rouge said.

Shadow just sat there, eyes closed, arms crossed, still blushing slightly.

"Ignoring me, huh?" Rouge asked.

"Not even Maria knows that, yet. You won't know unless Maria tells you." Shadow said.

"Fine. Be that way." Rouge said.

Maria tried not to laugh.

A few minutes later, Maria and the other girls were getting ready to go shopping.

Maria was still upstairs.

"We'll probably be gone all day. So, you boys behave while we're gone." Rouge said, with a wink.

"I'm going with you." Shadow said.

"No way." Amy and Rouge said.

"Why not?" Cream asked, a little confused.

"We've gotta shop for 'girl supplies'. I doubt Maria would want Shadow with us when we do." Amy whispered to Cream.

"Oh..." Cream said, quietly.

"I'm going." Shadow said, more determined this time.

"Trust me, Shadow. You would be bored to death if you go with them." Sonic said.

"You survived to tell the tale, didn't you?" Amy said slightly annoyed, her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, but it was so boring. All I did was end up holding the bags." Sonic said.

"Sonic's right, for once." Knuckles said.

"Hey! What do you mean 'for once'?" Sonic said, a little mad.

"Its a bad idea to go shopping with one girl. Going with four is suicidal." Knuckles said.

"I AM GOING!" Shadow said, loudly.

Maria heard them from the stairs.

"Sonic and Knuckles are right. You would be really bored if you came with us." Maria said.

"But...Maria..." Shadow said.

"See, even Maria says so." Sonic said.

'At least I'd be with her...' Shadow thought.

"Come on, Shadow. You can spare Maria for a few hours." Amy said.

"Yeah. Girls need girl time and you'd just be in the way." Rouge said.

Shadow glared at Rouge.

"You're saying there's things girls do when its just girls, right?" Shadow asked, a little irritated.

Rouge put her hands on her hips, annoyed.

"Yeah, so?" Rouge said.

"Then I'm going. I refuse to let you influence Maria!" Shadow said, loudly.

"Influence her? Wha...Oh, I see..." Rouge said.

Rouge smiled, slyly.

"What do you think I'd tell her, exactly?" Rouge asked.

"I don't want to know." Shadow said, crossing his arms and turning his back.

"Well, someone has to teach her how to protect herself." Rouge said, crossing her own arms.

"What's that suppose to mean?!" Shadow asked loudly, turning back to Rouge.

"I've seen the way you look at Maria. You know you 'want' her." Rouge said, slyly.

Sonic covered Tails' ears and Amy covered Cream's.

"Rouge! There are KIDS in the room!" Amy said, loudly.

"Yeah!" Sonic said.

Shadow blushed dark red and Maria blushed slightly.

"Am I right?" Rouge asked.

"I don't have to answer to you." Shadow said, turning away.

Rouge sighed, quietly.

"I'm not stupid, Shadow. Besides, Cream'll be with us. Totally kid friendly, just more girl oriented." Rouge said.

"She's right." Amy said, with a smile.

"I'm still going." Shadow said, his blush faded completely.

Maria sighed.

"Come with me, Shadow." She said, walking off.

Shadow followed her.

"Shadow's in trouble." Sonic said, in a teasing tone.

"Shut up." Shadow said.

A couple of minutes later, upstairs:

Maria sat on her bed.

"Okay, what's going on?" She asked.

"I don't want that Rouge influencing you." Shadow said.

"Is that really all?" Maria asked.

"No." Shadow said, sadly.

He sat beside her and took her hand.

"I just got you back...and you're leaving again." Shadow said, sadly.

"Just for a few hours. We'll probably be back before sunset." Maria said.

" 'Probably'?" Shadow asked.

"Well...It depends on how far we have to drive, how long we spend in each store, and how many stops we make." Maria said.

Shadow looked away, sadly.

"Come on. Shadow. You'll hang out with the guys and you'll forget I'm gone." Maria said, with a smile.

"Never!" Shadow said, practically pouncing on Maria, making her fall back onto the bed.

"I'd never forget you were gone, not for a second." Shadow said, leaning over Maria.

"Shadow..." Maria said quietly, blushing slightly.

Shadow sighed quietly.

"I know I can't be with you all the time. So, go and have fun with the other girls. Just..." Shadow said.

"What?" Maria asked.

"Come back to me." Shadow said.

Maria smiled, sweetly.

"Of course." She said.

"And..." Shadow said.

Maria blushed, seeing the look in Shadow's eyes.

"Kiss me good-bie." Shadow said.

They kissed.

A few minutes later:

"Alright, let's go." Maria said.

"Is Shadow-san coming with us?" Cream asked.

"No, he's not coming. I talked him out of it." Maria said.

"She said if I came along she wouldn't even speak to me." Shadow said, slyly.

"I did not!" Maria said.

Shadow smiled at Maria, then glared at Rouge.

"Rouge, you better bring Maria back in one piece!" Shadow said.

"Gotcha'." Rouge said.

A few minutes later: the girls were riding in Rouges car.

"Shadow's a little over protective, isn't he?" Amy said, with a hint of sarcasm.

"A little? That's an understatement!" Rouge said.

"I think its sweet." Cream said.

"I thought you'd say that." Rouge said.

"Its a little strong now, but Shadow's getting better. He's just worried he'll lose me again." Maria said.

"I can understand that. Still, I wonder how much longer we'll be going through this every time you two are gonna be apart." Amy said.

"It would really suprise me if Shadow didn't follow us." Rouge said.

"I wouldn't jinx it, Rouge." Maria said.

The girls laughed.

MEANWHILE: Back at the house...

"I'm bored..." Sonic said. sitting on the couch.

Shadow was looking out the window, ignoring Sonic.

"Hey, Shadow, how 'bout a race?" Sonic said.

"No." Shadow said.

"Aw, come on. I'll let you win." Sonic said, with a smile.

"You wouldn't have to, I'll win anyway." Shadow said.

"Prove it!" Sonic said, getting ready to run.

"Fine." Shadow said.

A few minutes later:

"A tie..." Tails said.

"No shock there." Knuckles said, sitting on the couch with his arms behind his head.

"Hey, wanna go check on the girls?" Sonic asked.

"You're kidding, right?" Knuckles said.

"Why not?" Sonic asked.

"Its only been...half an hour since the girls left." Tails said.

"So?" Sonic asked.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you miss Amy." Knuckles said.

Sonic laughed nervously.

"You do!!" Knuckles yelled.

"That's so cute." Shadow said, with a small smile.

"Well...I was just thinkin' that we could check on the girls while we're at the mall getting party supplies." Sonic said.

"Huh?" Tails asked.

"Since Maria's back, I was thinkin' it would be a good idea to get everyone together." Sonic said.

"I think you're tryin' to hide the fact that you just miss Amy." Knuckles said, slyly.

"N-no, that's not it." Sonic said.

"Sure its not." Shadow said, slyly.

"Well, if we're having a party, I say we call M-chan first." Tails said.

"Yeah, she could plan this party easily." Knuckles said.

"Who's M-chan?" Shadow asked.

"M-chan's a friend of ours. She knows everything about anything we've ever done. From fighting Eggman to knowing who's in love with who. Huh, that reminds me, she's been saying Sonic was in love with Amy for years." Tails said.

"She was right, after all." Knuckles said.

"I'll call the Chaotix." Knuckles added, walking out of the room.

"I'll call M-chan." Sonic said, dialing on his cell phone.

"I'll try to find Big's number." Tails said.

KNUCKLES' CALL:

"Hello, Vector here." Vector said, his voice muffled.

"Vector? What's wrong with you voice?" Knuckles said.

"Oh, hey, Knuckles. Charmy's got chicken pox and Espio was takin' care of him...and he got 'em, too. Now, I gotta take care of 'em both. I'm tryin' not to get it too, but I don't think my mask is workin'." Vector said.

"So, have you ever had chicken pox before?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, four times! I'm not immune to 'em for some reason." Vector said.

"Man, that's not good." Knuckles said.

"Tell me 'bout it...AHHGH!! Charmy! Stop scratchin'! More of those bumps'll come up if ya' do!!" Vector yelled.

"But it itches!!" Charmy yelled, from the background.

"Gotta go, knuckles." Vector said, and hung up.

SONIC'S CALL:

"I'D LOVE TO COME!!" M-chan yelled.

Sonic held the phone away fom him.

"Geeze, M-chan! Ya' don't have to yell." He said.

"Gomen, Sonikku. I can't wait! What time should I be there?! What should I bring?! Who's coming?!" M-chan said, loudly

"As soon as you can. CDs, your karaoke machine and maybe an overnight bag. So far, you're the only official invite." Sonic said.

"Should I come now to help set up?" M-chan asked.

"Sure, we're headed out to get the stuff now." Sonic said.

"NANDASTE?! This late?!" M-chan yelled.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Sonic asked, a little confused.

"I'll be there in 20 minutes. Don't do anything until I get there!" M-chan said, loudly.

She hung up.

"I can't get Big on the phone. He must be fishing again." Tails said.

"Is M-chan coming?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, she's on her way. Looks like M-chan'll be planing this party." Sonic said.

"Good, we could use the help. Sonic would just make a mess of things." Knuckles said.

"HEY!" Sonic said, loudly.

TO BE CONTINUED...

I'll put up chapter seven A.S.A.P. I HATE TWO PARTERS!!

READ AND REVIEW!


	7. Shopping and Party Planing prt2

HELLO AGAIN! I HOPE I DIDN'T KEEP YOU IN SUSPENSE TOO LONG!

BTW: Ikoyo: let's go,

DISCLAIMER: I only own M-chan. Sonic Team own the rest of 'em.

CHAPTER SEVEN: Shopping and Party Planing prt2

About 20 minutes later:

"M-chan!" Tails said, running to her.

"No fair, Tails!" Knuckles said, following Tails.

Sonic beat both of them to M-chan, but she ignored him to hug Tails.

"Hey!" Sonic said, annoyed.

M-chan hugged Knuckles and Tails in a group hug.

Then, she turned to Sonic.

He had his arms crossed and tapping his foot.

With a playfull shriek, she tackled Sonic to the ground, messing up his hair/quills.

"HAHA, what's up Blue Boy?!" M-chan said, laughing.

"A crazy girl just attacked me." Sonic said, sarcastically.

"Really? I don't see Amy anywhere." M-chan said, still laughing.(A/N: Yes, that's a joke! I adore Amy!)

"We missed you, M-chan." Tails said.

"Yeah, you don't visit enuff." Knuckles said.

"Sorry, guys. Stuff came up." M-chan said, letting Sonic up.

Shadow watched from several feet away, confused.

"We've got a lot to tell you! You won't believe what's happened lately!" Tails said.

"Like what?" M-chan asked.

"Like Sonic telling Amy he loved her, for starters." Knuckles said.

M-chan gasped, then got angry.

She put Sonic in a head-lock.

"You jerk!! You told Amy how you felt without me around on purpose, didn't you?!!" M-chan yelled.

"I wasn't planning on tellin' her! It just happened!" Sonic said loudly, trying to break free.

"M-chan, calm down! You know Amy'll tell you all about it later!" Tails said, attemting to referee.

"By the way..." M-chan said, calmed down.

"Where IS Amy? I'm surprised she's not down here yet." M-chan said.

"Amy and the other girls went shopping earlier. They don't know about the party yet." Tails said.

"Huh..." M-chan said.

"Can't... breath..." Sonic said.

" (gasp) Gomen, Sonikku!" M-chan said, letting go quickly.

"So, what else is new?" She asked.

"Maybe you should ask Shadow." Knuckles said.

"Shadow...?" M-chan asked, then saw Shadow across the room.

Shadow stood there, confused.\par \par "Shadow, this is M-chan. She's an old friend of ours. M-chan, meet Shadow." Tails said.

"I would know him anywhere...we meet at last, Shadow-kun." M-chan said.

" 'Shadow-kun'?" Shadow asked, confused.

"So, you and the guys seem like you're finally getting along. 'Bout time, too." M-chan said.

"You sound like you've known me for a long time. Who are you, really?" Shadow said, suspiciously.

"Just a friend. I've known Sonic and the others for over ten years. I always wanted to meet you, but..." M-chan said.

"Maybe you should tell her about Maria." Knuckles said.

"Huh? What about Maria?" M-chan asked.

"Maria was brought back by using the Master Emerald. Doing so aged her five years." Shadow said.

"Maria's...alive?" M-chan asked, quietly.

Shadow nodded.

M-chan looked like she was going to cry.

"M-chan..." Tails said.

"YES!!!! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! YOU AND MARIA ARE FINALLY BACK TOGETHER!!!" M-chan yelled, and hugged Shadow.

She gasped and let Shadow go.

"That's what the party's for isn't it?!" M-chan asked.

"Yeah, more or less." sonic said.

"Ikoyo!! We've got a party to plan!!" M-chan said, loudly.

"Where to?" Knuckles asked.

"To the mall! It should have everything we'll need!" M-chan said, excited.

"Where do we start?" Tails asked.

"Budget. How much are we gonna spend?" M-chan said.

"How's $200?" Sonic asked.

"Plenty! What about a theme?" M-chan said.

"Ask Shadow." Sonic said.

"Did Maria mention wanting to do something or go somewhere when she came to Earth?" M-chan asked.

Shadow thought for a minute.

"Maria did say she wanted to have a pool party, like in those movies she likes." Shadow said.

"Pool party it is!" M-chan said, loudly.

"Aw, great..." Sonic said, quietly.

"Deal with it, Blue Boy!" M-chan said loudly, getting mad.

"I don't think that's gonna work. There's a 80 percent chance of rain today." Tails said.

'YES!!' Sonic thought.

"Oh...well, that's out." M-chan said.

Shadow shrugged.

"Not a problem! We'll still have a blast!!" M-chan said, loudly.

"To the mall!! We've got party supplies to get!!" M-chan yelled, pumping her fist into the air.

TO BE CONTINUED...

I'M SO, SO, SO, SO, SO SORRY ITS SO SHORT!! BUT I PROMISE THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE LONGER THEN THIS ONE!

BTW:

IF ANY OF YOU HATE SALLY ACORN OR PRINCESS ELISE, I HAVE A HATE/BASHING FORUM OPEN!! I ALWAYS WANTED TO PUT UP A 'SALLY HATERS' FORUM, NOW I HAVE A HATE FORUM FOR HER AND ELISE BOTH!!

ITS EASIER TO GET TO ON MY PROFILE.

FEEL FREE TO BRING UP ANY OTHER HORRIBLE GIRLS TRYING TO STEAL SONIC FROM AMY!

HAPPY BASHING!!!


	8. Meeting at the mall

YEAH! 7 AND 8 UP AT ONE TIME! ENJOY!!

BTW: Oi: Hey! (used when angry), Ne': hey & right, Minna: everyone.

CHAPTER EIGHT: Meeting at the mall

MEANWHILE...

Rouge and Maria were standing outside one of the stores in the mall.

"Tell me this is a joke." Maria said, quietly.

"I wish I could. Its the only place here you can get 'em from." Rouge said.

"But...HERE?!" Maria said, quietly.

"Don't let its reputation fool you. This place does have 'normal' stuff, too." Rouge said.

"I can't do this..." Maria said, starting to walk away.

Rouge caught her, and turned her back around to face the store.

"I know its intimidating, but you really don't have a choice." Rouge said.

Maria sighed, she knew Rouge was right.

"Would it be easier if Amy and Cream were with us?" Rouge asked.

Maria gulped, nervously.

"I think so..." She said.

Rouge motioned to Amy and Cream.

"Be strong, it'll get easier." Rouge said, trying not to laugh at Maria's nervousness.

Maria took a deep breath, but seeing the store sign made her loose her nerve.

"I can't do this! Not here...not 'Victoria's secret!!" Maria said quietly, starting to walk away again.

"Its not that bad." Amy said, grabbing her.

"Yeah, alot of its really pretty. One of the mannequins had Angel wings.

Maria sighed.

"Okay, let's go." She said.

The girls walked in the store.

'This is why I didn't want Shadow with us. I hate to think what she would've done if he was with us.' Rouge thought.

A few minutes later...

"I found them, Maria!" Cream said, motioning to Maria.

Cream found 5 packs of 'normal' underwear.

"Great, one less thing to look for." Maria said.

"Hey, Maria. Check out this sleep wear." Rouge said.

Cream and Maria walked across the store, over to Rouge and Amy.

"Look at this. Isn't this pretty?" Rouge said.

She held up a pink lingerie type sleep shirt.

"Its pretty!" Cream said.

"I'm getting a blue one." Amy said.

Maria wasn't impressed.

"Its not really my style." Maria said.

"Sets of PJ's it is then." Amy said.

"I'll go look for them." Cream said, walking off.

Rouge smiled slyly.

"Shadow'd love it on you." She said, quietly.

"ROUGE!" Maria said loudly, her face crimson.

Rouge tried not to laugh at the horrified look on Maria's face.

"H-How could you suggest it?" Maria asked, still blushing crimson across her face.

"I was kidding. But, you know he would..." Rouge said.

"ROUGE!" Maria said.

"Alright, alright. Here, this any better?" Rouge said.

She held up a pink pajama set.

The top was solid pink and the bottom was white with pink and red hearts.

"Perfect." Maria said, taking them from Rouge.

"Okay, here's blue too. I vote for both." Rouge said.

"Sounds good." Maria said.

MEANWHILE...

Sonic and the others walked into the mall.

"I'll bet the girls are still here." Knuckles said, quietly.

"SHHH! You'll blow our cover!" Sonic said quietly, turning back to Knuckles.

"You guys should know how good my hearing is by now. You can't hide anything from me. Sounds like you just wanted an excuse to check on the girls." M- chan said.

"Just them." Shadow said, his arms crossed.

"Not me!" Knuckles said, loudly.

"Uhuh...who's idea was it?" M-chan asked.

"It was Sonic's idea." Shadow said.

"AWWW! You missed Amy, didn't you? That's SO CUTE!!" M-chan said, happily.

"But, who's the one who demanded to go with them? You're the one who couldn't stand the idea of being away from Maria." Sonic said.

"At least I'll admit it. I don't have to come up with another reason to see Maria" Shadow said, turning away.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Sonic asked, getting mad.

"You're too much of a coward to admit how you feel about Amy." Shadow said.

"HEY!" Sonic said, loudly.

"Oi! No fighting, you two!" M-chan said, loudly.

"Yeah, yeah." Sonic said.

Tails laughed, quietly.

'M-chan's always refereeing some one.' Tails thought.

He saw the girls come out of one of the stores.

"Hey, there's the girls. What do we do? Tails said.

"We go say 'hi'. I'm not avoiding them because of your 'spy mission'. Beside, they need to know about the party." M-chan said.

"Ne' minna!" M-chan said, loudly.

The girls looked around.

"Only one girl would yell that out." Rouge said.

"M-chan!" Amy yelled, running to M-chan.

"Amy-chan!" M-chan said, falling to her knees to hug Amy.

Cream dropped her bags and jumped into M-chan's arms.

"Its been so long! Where have you been?" Cream said.

"Here and there. What's new?" M-chan said.

"Our friend/personal matchmaker showed up out of the blue." Rouge said, walking over with Maria.

"Yo, hussie!" M-chan said.

"Hey, 'Old maid in training'." Rouge said, with a grin.

The girls glared at each other.

M-chan burst out laughing.

"What happened to 'Man-Hater'?!" M-chan asked. laughing.

"It got old. What're you up to?" Rouge said.

"Party planing for you guys and..." M-chan said and motioned the girls closer.

"The guys wanted an excuse to come see you. It was Sonic's idea." M-chan wispered.

"Awwwwww!" The girls said.

"Did you really miss me, Sonic?" Amy asked, taking Sonic's arm.

"Well, uh... hey, you got all that stuff already? Where'd you guys go? Sonic said, trying to change the subject.

Maria blushed slightly, trying to hide the bags behind her back.

"Nowhere you guys could go." Amy said, with a smile.

"So, you're Maria." M-chan said, walking over to her.

"Oh, yeah. Maria, this is M-chan. She's an old friend, emphasis on 'old'." Rouge said, with a grin.

"Hey! You're older then me and you know it, Rouge!" M-chan said, loudly.

"Hello." Maria said.

"A word of advice: Steer clear of this one. She's a crazy bat-girl who'll steel you boyfriend.

"What?!" Rouge said, loudly.

"I'd never leave Maria." Shadow said, coming closer to Maria.

"I'd never try! Besides..." Rouge said, walking over to Knuckles.

"Knuxie's the only guy for me." Rouge said with a grin, taking Knuckles arm.

"H-Hey!" Knuckles said, blushing slightly.

M-chan laughed.

"That's all I wanted to hear, Rouge." M-chan said.

"Should we shop together?" Sonic asked.

"No way. The girls still have shopping to do on their own. We can handle it." M-chan said.

"Bie guys." Rouge said, walking away.

Amy kissed Sonic on the cheek, making him blush.

"See you later, Shadow." Maria said, with a small wave.

She wasn't use to being able to be open about their relationship yet, Shadow knew that. But, he still felt like Maria ignored him somewhat.

'If Shadow saw the insignia on these bags, I'd be so embarrassed! I know he feels like I ignored him.Sorry, Shadow. It couldn't be helped.' Maria thought.

"Okay guys, to the party supply store!" M-chan said.

"Okay!" Tails said, excited.

"This is gonna be great!" M-chan said.

TO BE COTINUED...

BTW:

I PUT UP A SHADOW/MARIA PAIRING FORUM!!

FAV. SHADOW/MARIA FANFICTION, WHERE'S THE BEST FAN ART, AND MY THEORY OF A SHADOW/MARIA COVER UP IN THE 'SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG' GAME WILL BE BROUGHT UP.

YOU'LL HAVE TO GO THOUGH MY PROFILE TO GET TO THIS FORUM SINCE THE SITE WON'T LET ME PUT TWO FORUMS IN THE SAME CATEGORY!

READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!


	9. Memories of Maria's past decision

Konichiwa! Have you guys seen my forums yet?! Sally (or Elise haters) will love one of 'em.

ShadMaria fans will love the other one!

Enjoy!

BTW: Eto: Let's see

CHAPTER NINE: Maria's past decision.

ABOUT AN HOUR LATER:

"$80 in junk food, check. $30 worth of CDs, check. $50 in pizza, check." M-chan said.

"When did you order pizza?" Sonic said.

He and Knuckles were carrying the junk food bags.

Tails had the CDs.

"While you guys were checking out." M-chan said.

"Now what?" Knuckles asked.

"You guys head home. I gotta get some stuff from home and get paper cups and plates." M-chan said.

"Okay, we'll meet at the house in an hour." Sonic said.

"Wait, who gets the pizza? Someone has to pick it up." Tails said.

"I'll get it." M-chan said.

"See ya later, then." Tails said.

The guys walked off.

M-chan walked outside and took off one of her bracelets.

It turned into a portal.

M-chan steped into it.

'An hour, huh? That's plenty of time to find it.' M-chan thought.

She reapeared in her house.

"Eto...AHA!...No, that's not it...where did I...Oh, boy. This is bad..." M-chan said.

Looking around the room, she sighed quietly.

"This could take awhile." M-chan said, quietly.

MEANWHILE:

"What's left?" Maria asked.

"Just one more place." Rouge said.

"Yay! Make up!" Cream said, running ahead.

"Hey, wait up, Cream!" Amy said, going after her.

"Only 6 and already loves doing make-overs." Rouge said.

"I can tell." Maria said, with a laugh.

"Shadow's gonna be speechless when we're done with you." Rouge said, with a sly smile.

Maria blushed slightly.

"I don't know about this..." She said, quietly.

"Don't worry about it. All you need is lipstick to look really hot." Rouge said.

Maria blushed darker.

"Maybe..." She said, quietly.

"That's the spirit! I'll go see what I can find. Try not to wander too far." Rouge said, and walked off.

Maria smiled, slightly.

'This reminds me...I wonder if Shadow remembers it...' Maria thought.

(FLASH BACK)

'I always felt older back on Ark. I wasn't sure how old I felt, but it wasn't 12. When I realized I was falling in love with Shadow, I tried to deny it. I told myself...I shouldn't love Shadow. I rationalized it again and again. He's a hedgehog, I'm human. I tried to convince myself I didn't feel the way I did. But, after that time, I couldn't try to ignore it anymore.' Maria narrated.

"You wanted to see me, Grandfather?" Maria asked, coming into the lab.

"Ah, there you are, Maria. I was wondering where you'd gotten to." Gerald said.

"I was looking for Shadow. I haven't seen him today." Maria said.

"Huh, he said he was looking for you earlier. You must be just missing eachother." Gerald said.

"I guess so." Maria said.

"Maria, there you are." Shadow said, from the door.

"Hi, Shadow. Where were you?" Maria asked.

"I was looking for you." Shadow said, walking over to Maria.

"Shadow, could you take this to the X-ray room for me? You're the only one who can get it there in time." Gerald said.

"Yes, Professor." Shadow said, taking the box from Gerald.

"I'll go too." Maria said.

"Hang on, Maria." Gerald said.

"What is it Grandfather?" Maria asked, a little irritated.

"I need your opinion on these stats." Gerald said.

'Grandfather was like that sometimes. Even then I suspected he wanted to keep Shadow and I apart. Strange, he was the one who introduced us. I gave Grandfather my opinion, purposely opposite and he said, he said: 'Well, what do know. You're just a child.' Heh, he let me go after that. It didn't bother me that Grandfather said I was a kid. Then...' Maria narrated.

"Shadow!" Maria said, running to him.

"Maria, I can't believe Professor let you go so soon." Shadow said.

"Yeah, I just said the opposite of what he said. That did the trick." Maria said, with a smile.

Shadow smiled as they walked away together.

Maria laughed, quietly.

"What is it?" Shadow asked.

"My grandfather said I was 'just a child'. Its a little funny." Maria said.

"Why's that?" Shadow asked.

"Because I'm practically a teenager. I'm not a kid." Maria said.

"But...you are." Shadow said.

Maria stopped mid-step.

"What?" She asked, hoping she misheard.

"You are...still a child." Shadow said, quietly.

Maria hung her head, tearing up.

"So...you think I'm a kid..." Maria said, quietly.

She ran off.

"Maria!" Shadow called after her.

"Leave me alone!" Maria said, loudly.

'Of course he thinks I'm a kid. So...why does it hurt so much?' She thought.

'I ran to my room and didn't come out for five or more hours. Part of me was relieved not to see Shadow, but being away from him was almost worse. I just wanted to be in Shadow's arms, but, I couldn't be. Besides, Shadow saying I was a kid felt like he rejected me.' Maria narrated.

She was laying on her bed, crying.

Shadow was leaning against Maria's room door, the sound of Maria's crying tearing his heart out.

'She's crying...because of me.' Shadow thought.

He slid down to a sitting position against the door.

'Maria...please, forgive me.' Shadow thought.

'After the sixth hour, lacking my normally good since, I decided to prove him wrong.' Maria narrated.

"I'll show you, Shadow. I'm not a kid!" Maria said, quietly.

She got out a make-up bag her mother gave her.

Sitting on the floor, Maria got her mirror.

She decided on red lipstick, dark brown eye-shadow, mascara, eye-liner, and blush.

"Now, say I'm a kid." Maria said, quietly.

She heard a knock on the door.

"Who's there?" Maria asked.

"Its Shadow...can we talk?" Shadow asked.

"Fine." Maria said, turning her back to the door.

Shadow cautious came in the room.

"Shadow, do you think of me as a kid?" Maria asked.

"No, I don't." Shadow said, quietly.

"But, you said..." Maria said, having to remind herself not to turn around.

"I know. I'm sorry, Maria." Shadow said, walking over to her.

He put his hands on her shoulders.

"But...you are...still a child, even if I don't think of you as a child." Shadow said.

Maria blushed, slightly.

"Maria...I..." Shadow said.

"Shadow..." Maria said, turning around.

Shadow gasped, quietly.

"Maria...What happened? Your face..." Shadow said.

Maria looked away.

"Its make-up. I was trying to look older." Maria said, sadly.

Shadow smiled taking Maria's chin and bringing her gaze back to him.

"You don't need this stuff. You're too beautiful for it." Shadow said, wiping off her lipstick with his thumb.

Maria blushed.

'That's when I knew. I was in love with Shadow...and there was nothing I could do to change that. But...' Maria narrated.

"Maria? Are you in here?" Gerald asked, a hint of worry in his voice."I'm in here. Is something wrong?" Maria said.

Gerald opened the door.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" Gerald said, loudly.

Maria noticed Shadow was gone.

"What's with the make-up?" Gerald asked.

"I...wanted to look older." Maria said.

"Well, just don't disappear for five plus hours again. I was worried." Gerald said.

"Alright, Grandfather." Maria said.

'I also knew that my grandfather knew if I wasn't with him, a was with Shadow. I later realized my grandfather was worried BECAUSE I was with Shadow. But, I decided...I couldn't tell Shadow how I felt about him. No one could find out. If my grandfather knew how I felt, I might never see Shadow again. I still told myself...I shouldn't love Shadow. But, I did. Nothing would ever change that. So, my feelings for Shadow became my most guarded secret.' Maria narrated.

(END FLASHBACK)

"Maria! Come on!" Rouge said loudly, waving to her.

"Coming!" Maria said, running over to Rouge.

TO BE CONTINUED...

HOPE YOU LIKED IT!!

BTW: IF YOU HATE ELISE OR SALLY ACORN, CHECK OUT MY FORUM!!

IF YOU LOVE SHADMARIA, CHECK OUT MY FORUM!!

LATER!


	10. Jewelry and a Date for Mchan

CHAPTER TEN: Jewelry and a Date for M-chan

I'M BAAAAACK!!! HOPE YOU LIKE THIS ONE JUST AS MUCH AS THE OTHERS!!

BTW: YATTA: I did it;I got it.

"Maria, look at this lipstick. Isn't it gorgeous?" Rouge asked, handing Maria the case.

Maria opened it.

"Its beautiful! It looks like a pink rose!" She said.

"I thought you'd like it. Its the perfect color for you. Now, for the eye-shadow..." Rouge said, walking over to the nearby counter.

"AHA! Found it already!" Rouge said, picking up a brown eye-shadow. (A/N: Think 'SA2')

"What about foundation?" Maria asked.

"Your skin's flawless, so you don't need it." Rouge said, picking up a mixed eye-shadow case.

"I SEE JEWELRY!" Rouge said excitedly, running off.

"Rouge..." Maria said.

"Maria-san!" Cream said, she and Amy coming over to Maria.

"You've gotta see these earrings!" Amy said.

"Okay." Maria said.

The girls walked over and Maria saw a pair of pink and blue butterfly earrings.

"These are so pretty!" Maria said.

"Aren't they? I found pink and blue heart earrings to match the necklace...(sigh) that Sonic gave me." Amy said, a dreamy tone in her voice as she finished her sentence.

Maria giggled.

"Uh, guys..." Rouge said, quietly.

"What is it, Rouge-san?" Cream asked.

"I found the weirdest combination of colors on rings and necklaces over here. Come on, you should see 'em." Rouge said.

The girls walked across the store.

"Whoa!!" Amy said, loudly.

"A pink and blue ring with 'A' on the pink and 'S' on the blue." Cream said.

"Here's a dark purple and red ring with 'R' on the purple and 'K' on the red?" Cream said, confused.

"This is the most ironic one." Rouge said, picking up one of the rings.

It was black with a red slash and yellow with a light blue swirl.

It had 'S' on the black/red and 'M' on the yellow/blue.

"That's...a little weird..." Amy said.

"Here's a necklace just like it." Rouge said.

"I'm getting this one!" Amy said, picking up the pink and blue ring.

"I can't pass up this one." Rouge said, picking up the purple and red ring.

Cream hovered over them to get a better look.

"I like this one." Cream said, picking up a ring and landing.

It was a golden brown with 'T' on it and yellow with 'C' on it.

Maria picked up the black/red and yellow/blue necklace and studied it.

"It must be fate." Amy said.

"Maybe so..." Maria said, quietly.

"Hey, look at this." Rouge said.

Rouge walked over to a sign near the rings and necklaces.

"If the colors on these rings described you and the one you love, and both you're initials are on your respected colors: you and the one you love will be together forever." Rouge read.

"Really?!!" Amy asked, excitedly.

"Amy..." Maria said, with a smile.

"Well, that settles it. I'm getting this one." Rouge said.

"I didn't know you liked Knuckles-san that much, Rouge-san." Cream said.

"Heh, I can't wait to see the look on his face when I tell him the story behind this!" Rouge said, with a grin.

The girls laughed.

Maria looked at the necklace in her hand.

'I wonder if its true...' She thought.

Rouge saw the look on Maria's face.

"It screams 'Shadow and Maria', doesn't it?" Rouge asked.

Maria nodded.

A FEW MINUTES LATER:

The girls got the rings, except Maria, she decided on the necklace.

"Make-up, clothes, jewelry, girl supplies, PJ's, shoes...WE FORGOT SHOES!" Amy said.

"Where to?" Maria asked, slightly annoyed.

"That way!" Amy and Rouge said, pointing in opposite directions.

"The better shoe stores are to the left." Rouge said.

"Not from this side of the store. They're to the right from here." Amy said.

"This could take awhile..." Cream said quietly, while Amy and Rouge continued to argue.

MEANWHILE:

"YATTA!!! I FOUND IT!!!! I FINALLY FOUND IT!!!" M-chan yelled.

She'd been looking for her 'wishing dust'. Its made from M-chan's fallen lashes and chao magic.

It'll grant almost any wish.

"Now that Maria's alive, I can use this. Shadow and Maria can't really dance together at this point. But with this... that's all different. Now...where'd those CDs get to..." M-chan said, looking around.

"NOT AGAIN!! I JUST HAD 'EM, TOO!!" M-chan yelled.

MEANWHILE:

"Maria! We found the heels!" Amy said, coming over to Maria.

"Great, me too." Maria said, holding up pink high-heeled shoes.

Amy found blue.

"Get both." Rouge said.

"Good idea." Amy said.

"I wonder what M-chan has planed for tonight." Cream said.

"Me, too. You know how she gets sometimes." Rouge said.

"Yeah, when she gets hyper about something, she can go overboard." Amy said, with a laugh.

"No kidding." Rouge said.

"Hey, M-chan doesn't have a date." Cream said.

"Oh, that's right. Its an odd number. They didn't say anything about Vector and the others. I guess they can't make it"  
Amy said.

"Yeah. It doesn't seem fair, does it? M-chan did all this and she'll probably just be DJ-ing the whole time." Rouge said.

"Who could we invite?" Cream asked.

Amy giggled.

"She'd kill us, but...(giggle) what about 'Bird Brain'? M-chan calls him that." Amy said.

Rouge thought for a second, trying to think of who Amy could mean.

"OH, NO! NOT JET!! M-CHAN'D KILL US, IF SHE DIDN'T KILL HIM FIRST, THAT IS!" Rouge said, loudly.

"That bad, huh?" Maria asked.

"Worse..." Rouge said.

"Okay, that idea's out." Amy said, trying not to laugh.

The girls thought for a minute or so.

Amy gasped.

"I know!! M-chan'll be thrilled to see him! Let's just hope this number still works." Amy said, getting out her cell.

"Who?" Rouge asked.

Amy giggled, dialing a number.

"You'll see..." She said.

MEANWHILE...

"Where's M-chan?!" Sonic asked loudly, from upstairs.

"She's probably still at home. What's up?" Tails said.

"I just realized why she went back home! She's gonna bring 'THEM', I just know it!" Sonic said, leaning over the banister.

" 'Them'?" Tails asked, confused.

"Her 'Anime Mix' CDs. She'll bring them back for sure..." Sonic said, sadly.

"What's wrong with that?" Knuckles asked.

"Those CDs never have any descent songs on 'em." Sonic said.

"Oh, REALLY?!" M-chan said, loudly.

"M-Chan! Y-You heard that?" Sonic asked, nervously.

"You DARE call say 'Anime Mix' CDs don't have any desent songs on them!!!" M-chan yelled, putting Sonic in a head lock.

"I didn't mean it, M-chan!" Sonic said, struggling to get away.

"You better not have!! What about 'High School Never Ends'?!, 'Sadie Hawkins Dance', and 'Every Other Time'?!!! What's so wrong with those HUH?!!" M-chan yelled.

"I forgot about those!! LEMME GO, M-chan! I'm sorry, okay?!" Sonic said, still struggling.

"You're really sorry?!" M-chan asked.

"Yes!" Sonic said.

"Okay." M-chan said, dropping Sonic.

He fell to the ground.

"You...are...cruel, M-chan!" Sonic said, gasping for air.

M-chan grinned at him.

"That's what you get for bashing my 'Anime Mix'!" She said.

"What are 'Anime Mix' CDs?" Shadow asked.

"So glad you asked, Shadow-kun!" M-chan said, happily.

'Again with the' Shadow-kun...' Shadow thought.

"Its CDs that she puts together. Its 'theme songs' for the couples she's shipping." Knuckles said.

"Yeah, bad theme songs..." Sonic said, quietly.

M-chan growled at him.

Sonic backed away, nervously.

"Well, I think I've got some good ones. For example: Knuckles and Rouge would be...'Every Other Time" and the other was.  
I think its called 'Just the Girl' or 'Just the Girl I'm Lookin' for'. Good choice, right, Knuckles?" M-chan said.

Knuckles blushed.

"Yeah-I mean NO!!" Knuckles said, turning a darker red.

MEANWHILE...

Rouge and the other girls were driving home.

"Do you think the guy you invited can make it?" Maria asked.

"I think so. M-chan'll be thrilled to see him!" Amy said.

"I hope she brought her "Anime Mix' CDs with her." Cream said.

"Me too. I wanna dance with Sonic to 'Follow me' and 'If I let you go'!!" Amy said, excitedly.

The girls laughed.

"What about you, Maria? M-chan's probably long gotten a song for you and Shadow. What songs do you think describe you and Shadow?" Amy said.

Maria thought for a minute of so.

"I never found one. I didn't get to listen to music much back on Ark." Maria said.

"Well, lets find one now." Rouge said, turning on the radio.

Country music played.

The girls laughed.

"No way." Maria said.

Rouge changed stations.

'If I open up my heart to you' played.

Rouge started to change stations.

"WAIT!" Maria said.

Maria listened a little longer, then smiled.

"That's the one." She said.

"Great! But, what about Shadow's?" Amy said.

"Only Shadow could answer that." Maria said.

She smiled.

The other girls smiled, knowing who Maria was thinking about.

'Shadow...' Maria thought.

MEANWHILE...

'Maria... Will you be open enuff about our relationship...to dance with me tonight?' Shadow thought.

"Sonic and I are gonna go get the pizza!" M-chan said loudly, from the door.

"Hurry up, M-chan! You're so slow..." Sonic said.

"You did NOT just call me SLOW!!" M-chan said, chasing Sonic.

THAT'S ALL FOR THIS CHAPTER!!

NEXT CHAPTER UP SOON!!

READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!


	11. Memories of the Dance on Ark

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Memories of the Dance on Ark.

I'M BACK!!

ELEVEN CHAPTERS ALREADY?!!!!

ENJOY!!

DISCLAIMER: 'Sonic Team' owns them...Except M-chan, she's mine!

Rouge and the other girls arrived at home.

Maria was clearly a little nervous.

She was worried Shadow'd see the 'Victoria's Secret' bags she had.

"Is it that big of a deal?" Rouge asked, a little annoyed.

"I'd die of embarrassment if he saw them." Maria said.

Rouge sighed.

"If you'll carry some of my bags, I'll carry your 'Victoria's Secret' bags." Amy said.

"Thank you!!" Maria said, hugging Amy.

The girls swapped bags and went inside.

"We're back!" Cream said.

"Hey girls." Knuckles said, before nearly falling off the latter he was on.

"Where's M-chan?" Amy asked.

"She went with Sonic to pick up the pizza. I'm not sure where Shadow got to." Tails said, flying up to Knuckles and giving him more cables to hook up.

"Well, we're off to get ready. When Shadow shows up, tell him not to bother Maria." Rouge said, going up the stairs.

"Yeah, right! Shadow's the 'shoot the messenger' type, remember?" Knuckles said.

"Fine." Rouge said.

"Chicken." Rouge said, quietly.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!!" Knuckles yelled, angrily.

"Nothing, Sweetie." Rouge said, in a flirty tone.

Knuckles blushed.

The girls went to Maria's room to sort out the clothes.

"I can't believe how much we got today." Amy said.

"Yeah, but that's what happens when you're shopping in a group. More eyes, more stuff." Rouge said, with a laugh.

"Yeah, someone always sees something you didn't and points it out." Amy said, laughing.

"Is that bad?" Cream asked.

"No, its not bad." Rouge said.

"Hey, did anyone decide what they were gonna wear yet?" Amy asked.

"Well, I'm wearing..." Rouge said, going though one of the bags.

"...This." Rouge said, holding up a strapless red dress.

"WOW! How'd we miss you getting that?" Amy said.

"I saw it while you were shoe shopping and had to have it. I was in a trance, I couldn't wait for you guys." Rouge said.

"Yeah, and I bet Knuckles will be in a trance too." Amy said, with a sly grin.

"What about you, Amy? What are you gonna wear?" Maria asked.

"I haven't decided yet. (sigh) But, Sonic will be speechless!!" Amy said, happily.

The girls laughed.

"Well, since we need to decide what to wear, I vote we meet back up in about an hour for hair and make-up." Maria said.

"Good idea. See ya' in an hour." Rouge said, and walked off.

"Bie-bie." Cream said, leaving.

"Wish me luck." Amy said, closing Maria's room door as she left.

MEANWHILE:

Shadow was downstairs, and not in a good mood.

He heard what Rouge said and decided to go along with it, until she left Maria's room.

Shadow saw the girls leave and snuck up to Maria's room.

He knocked on the door, quietly.

"Come in." Maria said.

Shadow walked in the room.

"I thought they'd never leave." Shadow said.

Maria hid the bags.

"Somehow I knew you'd come up here. If Rouge catches you, you'll be in trouble." Maria said, with a laugh.

"I don't care about that. Besides, we had to be careful on Ark and I still managed to come see you." Shadow said, coming closer to Maria.

"That's true." Maria said, sitting on the bed.

Shadow took her hand.

"I missed you." Shadow said, quietly.

"I missed you too, Shadow." Maria said, quietly.

Shadow kissed her gently.

"Hey Maria! Did I leave my..." Amy said, opening the door and seeing Shadow.

"OOOOOOH! Rouge, he didn't listen!" Amy said, with a grin.

"I knew it!" Rouge said, coming to the door.

"Boys shouldn't sneak up to a girl's room." Cream said, standing behind Rouge.

Shadow suppressed a growl, then looked back at Maria.

"I'll come back later." He said, quietly.

"Alright. See you later, Shadow." Maria said, quietly.

Shadow tried not to glare at the other girls, but you could tell he was not happy.

"See ya." Rouge said, with a small wave.

The girls laughed when Shadow was out of hearing range.

"Should we 'post a guard'?" Rouge asked, still laughing

Maria laughed.

"It not necessary. I doubt Shadow will come back for at least 20 minutes." Maria said.

"Good. Yell when he does and well get rid of him." Amy said, still laughing.

"Okay." Maria said, with a laugh.

The girls left the room.

Maria sighed, blushing slightly.

'Shadow...' Maria thought.

She got out her light blue, just above-the-knee dress, pink and blue butterfly earrings, light blue high-heel shoes, make-up, and her red/black and light blue/yellow necklace.

MEANWHILE:

M-chan and Sonic got back with the pizza and were arguing.

"Why THIS song?!" Sonic said, loudly.

"Because Amy, your GIRLFRIEND, loves it." M-chan said, loudly.

"Its a slow song." Sonic said, quietly.

M-chan groaned, loudly.

"So what?! I've got plenty of fast ones!!" She said, loudly.

"Fine!" Sonic said, walking off.

"Fine!!" M-chan said, loudly.

"Fine!" Sonic said, loudly.

"Fine!!!" M-chan yelled.

Knuckles and Tails shook their heads.

Shadow was ignoring the argument, and remembered a dance back on Ark.

(FLASH BACK)

"Why so dressed up?" Shadow asked, walking in Maria's room.

Maria was wearing a medium pink dress, almost a ball gown.

Her hair was up in a ponytail, with a few curled stands by her face.

"Grandfather's ball, remember?" Maria said.

"The one I can't go to and the one you can't get out of?" Shadow asked.

"That's the one." Maria said, fussing with her hair.

Shadow groaned.

"I don't like it either. They're boring, but I have to go. At least you don't have to go." Maria said, with a smile.

'I'd rather go and spend time with you.' Shadow thought.

"I'll probably be back late. But, if you wait up for me, I'll tell you all about it." Maria said, still smiling.

"Alright." Shadow said.

"Maria left soon after that. I hadn't told Maria how I felt yet. I knew telling her could be the worst mistake of my life. Maria was the best thing in my life, I couldn't risk loosing her. Its true that, in years, Maria was older then me. But, the Professor said, on a maturity level, I was older...by about 6 years. That fact alone was enuff to keep me from telling Maria how I felt. She was only 12, even if I had to remind myself of that fact time and again. She always seemed older, so it was harder to think of Maria as a 12-year-old girl. I loved her...no matter the age difference." Shadow narrated.

(END FLASH BACK)

Shadow started to go upstairs.

"Hold it! Where do you think you're goin'?" M-chan said.

"To see Maria. Got a problem with that?" Shadow said, a little angry.

"I sure do! The girls are getting ready. You're staying put!" M-chan said, her hands on her hips.

"M-chan..." Tails said, a little worried.

"Besides, this party is because of Maria. Don't ya' wanna make sure its perfect for her?" M-chan said.

Shadow thought about it.

"Fine." He said.

"Great!" M-chan said, happily.

Following M-chan, Shadow glanced up at the stair case.

"Quit day dreaming, Shadow! You'll see her soon enuff!" M-chan said, loudly.

Shadow nodded.

A FEW MINUTES LATER:

M-chan and Sonic were arguing again.

Shadow ignored them, setting up some speakers.

He thought about the dance on Ark again.

(FLASH BACK)

Shadow decided to check on Maria.

He went through an air-duct so he wouldn't be noticed.

A few minutes later, Shadow finally got to the ball room.

Maria was standing beside her grandfather.

"The Professor introduced Maria to some human boy and the two talked for a few minutes. Then, they ended up dancing together. I hated every second of it, MY Maria in the arms of someone else. I hadn't even held her, not as more then a friend.  
Maria hugged me occasionally, but it wasn't good enuff." Shadow narrated.

Shadow growled again, seeing how close the guy came to Maria.

"Maria was introduced to a lot of human boys at that ball. Every time a dance ended, if she didn't dance with the same guy,  
the Professor would introduce her to someone else. I couldn't help wondering why the Professor seemed so insistent. But, at that moment, I would've given anything to be human, so I could dance with Maria." Shadow narrated.

'Someday Maria...Someday you'll be dancing with me.' Shadow thought.

(END FLASH BACK)

TO BE CONTINUED...

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?

NICE HUH?!

READ AND REVIEW, PLEASE!

NEXT CHAPTER UP NEXT WEEK!


	12. Mchan's Date Revealed

CHAPTER TWELVE: M-chan's Date Revealed.

KONICHIWA!! I'M BACK!!

HOPE YOU LIKE CHAPTER 12!!

BTW: Uber Kawaii: super cute.

DISCLAIMER: I only own M-chan.

Amy, Rouge, Maria and Cream were upstairs getting ready.

"Is the 'Mystery Guy' on his way?" Rouge asked, putting on her make-up.

"Yeah, he just called a couple minutes ago." Amy said.

"Why won't you tell us who it is?" Cream asked.

"I'm not gonna jinx it. Besides, if M-chan hears about it, it'll spoil the surprise." Amy said.

"M-chan hates surprises, ya' know." Rouge said.

"Only when she knows something about it. M-chan'll never expect this!" Amy said, with a laugh.

"Yeah, I just hope he gets here in time. M-chan brought her 'wishing dust'. I don't know what she's planning, but he should be here before she does it." Rouge said.

"I'll distract her. I grabbed an outfit for her to wear tonight." Amy said, getting out a bag.

"I'll go get her." Cream said, leaving the room.

"Do you think M-chan'll be suspicious?" Rouge asked.

"I sure hope not." Amy said.

MEANWHILE:

"M-chan! M-chan!" Cream yelled.

"What's wrong, Cream?" Sonic asked.

"Girl emergency." Cream said.

"She's in the kitchen." Sonic said.

"M-chan!" Cream yelled, running off.

M-chan was doing a once over to see if they needed something else.

"What's up, Cream?" M-chan asked.

"Girl emergency! You're needed upstairs." Cream said, tugging on M-chan's hand.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." M-chan said.

A FEW MINUTES LATER:

"Why am I doing this again?" M-chan asked, a little irritated as the girls fussed with her hair.

"Its not fair that we get to dress up when you worked so hard to make this party perfect." Amy said.

"I'm not into that stuff and you know it." M-chan said, dully.

"Well. it'll make us look bad if your still in jeans and a shirt." Rouge said.

"You're up to something, I can feel it." M-chan said.

Amy giggled, trying not to sound nervous and failing.

"What makes you think that?" Rouge asked, hiding the fact she was nervous.

"You two have never gotten together to do a make-over. What's up?" M-chan asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowed.

"Nothing's up, except maybe your hair...I can't decide 'up' or 'down' style." Amy said, messing with M-chan's hair.

"Don't change the subject." M-chan said, a little mad.

"Maybe...oh-no! Did you set me up?!" M-chan said, loudly.

Rouge and Amy giggled.

"YOU DID!? WHO?!" M-chan yelled.

"Calm down. You know him, and you'll be happy to see him." Rouge said.

"I doubt that..." M-chan said, quietly.

"I KNOW you'll be trilled to see him." Amy said.

"How could you...?" M-chan said, quietly.

"Trust us." Amy said.

"Fine. Hey, what about Maria? Who's with her?" M-chan asked.

"Cream's with her." Rouge said.

"Incoming! Male on the floor!" Sonic said, loudly from the stairs.

"EEEKK!" Rouge Amy and M-chan playfully shrieked.

"Hey, who's chaperoning Maria?" Sonic asked, almost laughing.

"Cream." Amy said.

"Figures. Maria's room door looks like Fort Knox!" Sonic said, laughing.

"That's probably because of what happened earlier. Shadow snuck upstairs to see Maria and well...you know how she gets sometimes." M-chan said.

Rouge laughed.

"You don't think she'll be like those teachers, do you? The ones that carry rulers to make sure the couples are far apart enough?" Rouge asked, laughing.

The others laughed.

"I doubt it." M-chan said.

"Good. That way..." Amy said, walking over to Sonic.

She put her arms around his neck.

"...I can dance with my boyfriend, as close as I want, without being scolded." Amy said.

Sonic blushed slightly.

M-chan smiled, but with a hint of sadness.

"Somethin' wrong, M-chan?" Rouge asked.

"No, nothing's wrong." M-chan said.

Cheese came in the room.

"Chao, chao, chao!" Cheese said.

"What is it, Cheese? Does Maria need help with her make-up or somethin'?" Rouge asked.

Cheese nodded.

"SONIC!! GET DOWN HERE!!" Knuckles yelled, from down stairs.

"Duty calls, girls. See ya' later, Amy." Sonic said, then walked out of the room.

Rouge went to help Maria and Cream.

Amy sighed, hugging herself.

"Love really is something, isn't it?" Amy said, and did a twirl.

"I wouldn't know..." M-chan said, quietly.

"Huh? You mean there's no one you care about like that?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, I prefer to be 'Match-Maker' instead of 'Match-ee'." M-chan said.

"That reminds me...you have your 'Anime Mix' CDs, with you right?" Amy asked.

"Yeah." M-chan said.

"So, what songs did you choose for Sonic for me?" Amy asked, trying to hide her enthusiasm.

M-chan laughed.

"Let's see...'I'll take my chances with you', that's from Sonic's P.O.V. So was 'What makes you different'. Yours was 'I do, I do, I do' short version and, of course 'Follow me'. There's a few more too, but this one..." M-chan said, getting out her CD player and speakers.

"...This is my favorite 'SonAmy' song." M-chan said.

Ateens 'Sugar Rush' played.

"Its PERFECT!!" Amy said, loudly.

"I thought so." M-chan said.

"You're really good at choosing songs for couples. What'd you choose for Shadow and Maria?" Amy said.

"Let's see...'Around the corner of your eye' was Maria's. Shadow's was 'On the way down'. I'm still workin' on a 'ShadMaria'  
song." M-chan said.

"What about Knuckles and Rouge?" Amy asked.

M-chan giggled.

"Knuckle songs are 'Every other time' and 'Just the girl I'm lookin for'. It might be called 'Just the girl', I'm not sure about the title. Rouge...'Buttons'. Again, no 'pairing' song." M-chan said.

"Is that all?" Amy asked, confused.

"No way! Those are just a few of my 'Anime Mix' songs. I've got PLENTY of songs for you guys. The rest aren't exact...well,  
except for 'If I let you go'... but they're still good. You'll see." M-chan said, with a grin.

'Hey Juliet' played.

"I LOVE THIS SONG!!" Amy yelled, starting to dance.

M-chan laughed.

"Hey, did you bring your karoke machine with you?" Amy asked, dancing.

"Yeah, Sonic asked me to bring it. Why?" M-chan said.

Amy giggled.

"No reason." Amy said, with a grin.

MEANWHILE: In Maria's room

"Almost done." Rouge said.

She was doing Cream's make-up.

Pink lip gloss, and copper eye-shadow.

Cream wore a light pink dress and had ribbons on her ears, making them look like pigtails.

"There, all done." Rouge said.

Rouge wore a strapless, red dress, red lipstick, and dark pink eye-shadow.

"Ready girls?" Amy asked, coming in the room.

She wore a midnight blue dress, hot pink lipstick, and lavender eye-shadow.

"Where's M-chan?" Cream asked.

"She's setting up our music intros. She'll be up in a minute." Amy said.

"Did 'he' get here yet?" Rouge asked.

"Yeah, he's in my room. We've got the cue for him to come down all worked out." Amy said, with a grin.

Maria walked in from the balcony.

She was wearing a light blue, just above the knee dress and blue and pink butterfly earrings. Brown eye-shadow, (A/N:Think 'SA2'), rose pink lipstick and her half black/red and yellow/blue necklace.

"Perfect! Absolutely stunning, Maria!!" Amy said loudly, running over to her.

"Yeah!" Cream said, going over to them.

"Uh, girls...is something different?" Rouge asked, almost nervously.

"What?" Maria asked.

"WE'RE EYE LEVEL WITH MARIA!!" Rouge yelled.

"WE ARE!!!" Amy yelled.

"I'm not." Cream said, a little confused.

"M-chan made us taller!! Amy and Rouge said, standing in front of the mirror.

"Sure did. The guys, too." M-chan said.

"Why?" Cream asked.

"Well, Shadow and Maria won't be able to dance easily because of there height difference. So, I used my 'wishing dust' to fix it. It didn't seem fair to leave you guys out, so you're taller, too. Its only temporary, only 12 hours." M-chan said.

"Do the guys already know?" Maria asked.

"Yep, Shadow seemed happy about it." M-chan said.

'Buttons' started.

"You're first, Rouge." M-chan said.

Knuckles was at the base of the stairs, waiting for Rouge.

"Let's go." M-chan said.

Amy stayed behind and snuck away to check on the 'Mystery Date'.

"You heard, right?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, does this change anything?" The guy said.

"No." Amy said, and walked back to the other girls.

Knuckles was speechless when he saw Rouge.

Rouge suppressed a laugh and took Knuckles' arm.

'Here in your arms' started.

"Maria's next." M-chan said.

Shadow stood at the base of the stairs.

Maria blushed, seeing Shadow.

Shadow gasped, seeing Maria.

She walked down the stairs, and Shadow took her hand.

Maria blushed darker.

"Aww, aren't they 'Uber Kawaii'?" M-chan said to Amy.

Amy nodded, with a smile.

'Sugar Rush' intro played.

"That's you." M-chan said.

Sonic waited for Amy at the base of the stairs.

Amy walked down the stairs and took Sonic's hand.

'Best Friend' played.

"Your up, Cream." M-chan said.

Cream walked down the stairs and was greeted by Tails.

She curtsied and he bowed.

Tails took her hand, and they walked off together.

'If we were a movie' played.

"Huh?" M-chan said, confused.

"Just go with it, M-chan." Amy said.

"Whatever." M-chan said.

She slid down the banister side-saddle/Mary Poppens style.

M-chan wore a blue and pink swirl dress, silver/blue eye-shadow, blue lipgloss, and pink/blue swirl earrings.

When she got to the end of the banister, someone picked her up and spun once before setting her down.

He moved so fast M-chan barely caught a glimpse of golden eyes under a hooded rain-coat.

"We meet again, M-chan." He said, taking off the hood.

"SILVER!!" M-chan yelled and hugged him. (A/N:See bottom of the page for details on how they met.)

"But how did you...when did you...?" M-chan asked stunned, pulling away.

"Amy and the other girls let me know. Blaze says 'hi', by the way." Silver said.

"She's alright! I'm so happy!!" M-chan said, hugging Silver again.

"Hey, M-chan! Chat with your boyfriend later. You're the only one who can work that machine, remember?" Sonic said.

"B-boyfriend?" M-chan said, a little mad, her eyebrow twitching slightly.

Silver blushed slightly.

"But, you do have a point about the music." M-chan said, walking over to the CD player/DJ mixer.

She got out her 'Anime Mix' CDs.

"Let's start with...'Girlfriend'." M-chan said.

"M-chan..." Amy whispered.

"Censored version." M-chan whispered back.

Amy nodded.

"Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend." M-chan said with the song.

The song played and M-chan smiled slightly.

Shadow and Maria walked outside together.

Sonic and Amy, Tails and Cream, and Knuckles and Rouge were dancing.

"Perfect..." She said, quitetly.

"Not quite." Silver said, taking M-chan's hand.

M-chan smiled.

"May I have this dance?" Silver asked.

M-chan suppressed a laugh.

"Of course, Silver-kun." She said, with a smile.

The walked out onto the dance floor.

TO BE CONTINUED...

OKAY, IN CASE YOU'RE CURIOUS:

M-CHAN, LIKE BLAZE, CAN TRAVEL TROUGH DIMENSIONS.

BLAZE MET M-CHAN WHILE SHE WAS LOOKING FOR EGGMAN NEGA (I THINK THAT'S HIS NAME.)

M-CHAN, SILVER AND BLAZE REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED IN 'SONIC NEXT GEN.'

SHE MET SILVER THOUGH BLAZE.

SILVER MET THE OTHERS THOUGH THE EVENTS IN 'SONIC RIVALS'.

YEAH, SOMETHIN' LIKE THAT...

OH, AND IF ANYONE HATES ELISE, PLEASE READ MY 'If Elise was EVIL!' STORY!!

I ONLY HAVE ONE GOOD REVIEW FOR IT!!!


	13. Confessions and Party Crashers prt1

Chapter thirteen: Confessions and Party Crashers part 1

DISCLAIMER: I only own M-chan...:)

SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT!!!

HOPE YOU LIKE IT

READ AND REVIEW, PLEASE!

ENJOY!!

Silver and M-chan were dancing and M-chan glanced at the other couples.

"Well, I got my way with this group. The question is: What about you and Blaze?" M-chan said.  
"What about us?" Silver asked.

"Are you two...together?" M-chan asked, with a smile.

Silver blushed.

"Maybe..." He said, quietly.

"I thought so." M-chan said, with a nearly cocky grin.

MEANWHILE:

Shadow and Maria were outside on the porch.

Maria was blushing slightly, looking at her feet.

"Is something wrong, Maria?" Shadow asked, a little worried.

Maria shook her head.

"No...nothing's wrong..." Maria said, quietly.

Shadow wasn't buying it.

Maria wasn't usually so...shy around him.

"Maria..." Shadow said, holding Maria's chin to bring her gaze back to him.

She blushed darker, looking into Shadow's eyes.

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked, quietly.

"Nothing's wrong...its just..." Maria said, quietly.

" 'Just' what? Tell me." Shadow said, getting worried again.

"Its just...different. You're taller then me. I don't know why, but it makes me feel so flustered." Maria said, quietly.

Shadow almost laughed.

"That's what's bothering you?" He asked.

Maria nodded.

"I'll get use to it. Besides, we can dance easier this way." She said, her blush fading.

Shadow smiled slightly, holding Maria's hand gently.

"Come on, I like this song." Maria said, starting to walk back inside.

Shadow pulled Maria back to him, holding her close.

"Not yet...we can always request the song later." Shadow whispered.

Maria blushed.

"Shadow..." She whispered, too flustered to continue.

MEANWHILE:

M-chan was setting up the next few songs, watching Shadow and Maria.

She sighed quietly.

'Perfect...' She thought, with a smile.

"Spying, M-chan?" Silver asked, sneaking up behind M-chan.

M-chan jumped.

"I am **NOT** spying. I'm...observing." She said, looking though her CDs.

"Uh-huh..." Silver said, with a grin.

"How could I be spying if they're out in the open? It's not like I hunted them down or anything." M-chan said.

"Yeah, but you've spent more then enough time setting up the songs." Silver said, crossing his arms.

"Well...I can't help it! They're soooooo cute together!" M-chan said, with a grin.

"Girls..." Silver said.

"Hey, what's that suppose to mean?" M-chan asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Nothing..." Silver said, turning away slightly.

"Uh-huh..." M-chan said, quietly.

MEANWHILE:

"Maria..." Shadow whispered, letting Maria go.

"What is it, Shadow?" Maria asked.

Shadow bowed.

"Will you dance with me?" He asked, offering her his hand.

Maria giggled, taking Shadow's hand.

"Of course." She said.

The two headed inside.

MEANWHILE:

"They're coming." M-chan said, with a grin.

"What are you going to do now?" Silver asked, eyes narrowed.

M-chan giggled.

"Play the perfect 'ShadMaria' song for them." She said, her grin widening.

M-chan put in an 'Anime Mix' CD.

'How did I fall in love with you?' played.  
M-chan sighed, quietly.

'Sonic and Amy...Knuckles and Rouge...Shadow and Maria...together at last. I'd all but lost hope...but...' M-chan thought.

"You can talk for hours about he/she's perfect for him/her. You can find songs that fit every couple. But what about you?  
Is there...someone you...care about?" Silver said, blushing.

"Blaze put you up to this didn't she?" M-chan asked, suspiciously.

"Yeah." Silver said, hanging his head.

"Tell her 'Curiosity killed the cat, but no.' I'm too busy with them." M-chan said.

"Huh, Blaze was convinced you had a thing for someone." Silver said, looking at M-chan.

"Really?" M-chan asked, a little confused.

"Yeah, she said: 'I know she likes someone! I have to know who it is!" Silver said, making his voice higher to imitate Blaze.

"She doesn't sound like that." M-chan said with a laugh.

Silver rubbed the back of his head, laughing quietly.

M-chan watched the couples out on the dance-floor and sighed quietly.

Her compact-like cell phone started beeping.

"I'll be right back." M-chan said, walking off.

She ran upstairs, seeing it was Blaze.

"Checking up on me, are you?" M-chan asked, opening the 'compact'.

Blaze appeared in the 'mirror'.

"Well, I was wondering how everything was going." Blaze said, with a small smile.

"Silver tells me you think I like someone." M-chan said.

"I figured he'd tell you. So...who is it?" Blaze said, her smile widening.

"No one." M-chan said, dully.

"Liar." Blaze said.

"Blaze..." M-chan said.

"Well, someone has to look out for you. While you're busy 'pairing off' people, who'll 'pair you off'?" Blaze said.

"What happened to 'Miss independent'?" M-chan asked.

"Oh, so I'm dependant now?" Blaze asked.

"That's not what I meant. I'd just rather be single." M-chan said.

"I **know** you like **SOMEONE**. 'Who' is the question." Blaze said.

"You're more stubborn then I remember." M-chan said, eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, yeah...so who is it or do I have to guess?" Blaze asked.

M-chan sighed.

"He has a girlfriend, so drop it." she said.

"**AH-HA**!! I knew it!" Blaze said, with a grin.

"Damn..." M-chan mumbled.

"Well, Silver's single so he's out..." Blaze said.

"WHAT?!" M-chan yelled.

"What's wrong?" Blaze asked.

"Silver told me you two were dating!" M-chan said.

Blaze burst out laughing.

"Its not funny! Why would he lie to me?! About this?!" M-chan asked, loudly.

"Come on, M-chan. You should know the reasons why he would lie. Maybe he 'likes' you." Blaze said.

"No way..." M-chan said.

'It couldn't be...' M-chan thought, almost worried.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WHOA!!! A CLIFF-HANGER!!

SORRY IF BLAZE IS OOC, I TRIED...BUT I DON'T KNOW ALOT ABOUT HER...

NEXT CHAPTER UP A.S.A.P.!!


	14. Confessions and Party Crashers prt2

I'M SO, SO,SO,SO,SO,SO,SO,SO,SO,SO,SO,SO,SO,SO,SO SORRY ABOUT THE UPDATES!!! I GOT SICK AND HAD A TON GOING ON!!

I'LL TRY TO UPDATE MORE OFTEN NOW!! I PROMISE YOU THE STORY WILL CONTINUE!!!!!!!!

ON WITH THE CHAPTER!!!

ENJOY!!! R & R please!!

Disclaimer: I only own M-chan.

Yada-'No way' Daisuke yo -'I love you' or literally, 'I really like you'

**Chapter Fourteen: Confessions and Party Crashers part 2**

"Are you sure he didn't misinterpret something?" M-chan asked.

"Not that I can think of." Blaze said.

M-chan sighed, quietly.

'Whoa...' She thought.

Blaze gasped.

"Its Silver isn't it?!" She asked, loudly.

M-chan hesitated.

"IT IS! I knew you liked him! I just knew it!" Blaze said, loudly.

M-chan eyes narrowed.

"I miss the days when you were serious." She said, quietly.

"Are you gonna tell him?" Blaze asked.

"YADA!!" M-chan said, loudly.

"Why not?" Blaze asked, clearly irritated.

"Because you're wrong. I don't like Silver like that." M-chan said.

"Aww come on! Its obvious you 'like' him!" Blaze said, loudly.

"I don't have time to argue with you. We'll talk later." M-chan said, and closed her compact.

M-chan walked back downstairs, thinking.

'C-could Blaze be right? About Silver? I mean, why else would he lie...TO ME!? Maybe he's worried I'll set him up with someone. No, he knows me better then that. I don't set up 'blind dates'. So...' M-chan thought.

'Sadie Hawkins Dance' was playing when M-chan got back.

"I'm back." M-chan said.

"Great, the songs ending soon and I have no idea how to change CDs on this thing." Silver said.

M-chan got out another 'Anime Mix' CD.

"I talked to Blaze." She said, putting the CD in.

Silver choked on the soda he was drinking.

"R-really?" He asked, a little nervous.

"Yeah, and she said the strangest thing. She told me you two weren't dating." M-chan said, looking Silver in the eye.

Silver laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"You lied to me. Why would you lie...to ME?" M-chan asked.

Silver looked away.

"I..." He said, quietly.

"Hey, M-chan!" Rouge said, coming over with Knuckles in tow.

"Yeah?" M-chan asked.

"Play MY theme next." Rouge said.

M-chan smiled and gave a thumbs up. (A/N: Bad habit from Sonic...)

"Gotcha'!" She said.

Rouge and Knuckles danced off.

"M-chan..." Silver said quietly, turning back to her.

M-chan set up 'Buttons' to play next.

"Silver, why? You can tell me anything, you know that." M-chan said.

"Not...this. I can't." silver said, turning away again.

"Why not?" M-chan asked, confused and hurt.

"M-chan, if you knew...I could lose you." Silver said, blushing slightly.

"Lose me?" M-chan said.

Silver blushed darker, and faced M-chan.

"M-chan, I..." He said, then a loud motor outside interrupted him.

"What's that?" Cream asked, worried.

"Eggman?!" Knuckles said, loudly.

"Worse! I know that noise!" M-chan said loudly, her hand covering her face.

The double doors burst open and a dust cloud hid the identity of the intruder.

"M-chan, darling!" A high-pitched male voice said.

"I knew it...I HATE HIM!" M-chan said, quietly.

The dust cloud dissipated, revealing a green bird in the doorway.

"Jet!!" The group said, loudly.

"What are you doing here?!?!" M-chan yelled, coming from behind Silver.

"M-chan! I came to see you, Honey! You never did call me back!" Jet said, running to her.

M-chan stopped him by slamming her foot into Jet's face.

"What makes you think I WANTED to call YOU back?! I should've never answered the phone!" M-chan said, loudly.

"Aww, come on M-chan! You know you like me." Jet said, his voice muffed from the shoe on his beak.

"WHAT makes you think THAT?!" M-chan yelled.

"I dunno...the way you act like you don't like me is one reason." Jet said, his voice still muffed.

"WHY WOULD YOU THINK I LIKE YOU IF I ACT LIKE I DON'T!!?" M-chan yelled.

"Come on, M-chan. You know you like me, just admit it and go out with me." Jet said.

Jet jumped over M-chan's foot and tried to kiss her.

"WHAT THE...!!!!!!!!!!!" M-chan yelled, and thew Jet into the wall.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??!!" M-chan yelled.

Jet groaned.

"Whoa...you play rough, M-chan. I like that! Too many girls are pansies these days." Jet said, with a smirk.

"THAT'S IT!! YOU'RE GONNA DIE, BIRD!!" M-chan yelled, charging at Jet.

"She's gonna kill him if someone doesn't get him outta here!!" Amy said, loudly.

Silver grabbed M-chan and kept her away from Jet.

"LEMME GO!! That birds got it coming!!" M-chan yelled.

"I know he does! But, if you kill him, he'll just come back as a ghost. Then how would you fight him?" Silver said, fighting the urge to attake the bird himself.

"You're mine now, M-chan!" Jet said, charging at Silver and M-chan.

Silver used his powers to form A bubble-like barrier around Jet and stop him in his tracks.

"Wha- what is this?!" Jet asked loudly, his voice muffled because fo the barrier.

"That'll hold him for awhile." Silver said.

M-chan started to laugh.

"Serves you right, Buzzard-Brain!!" She said, starting to walk over to him.

She couldn't move.

Silver had his arm around M-chan's waist, preventing her from going over to a caged Jet.

She looked up at Silver, noting how close he was holding her.

Silver glared at Jet, and judging by his oppressors, he hated the bird.

'What's with him? I've never seen Silver look so angry. Why's he so angry?' M-chan thought, looking at Silver.

Silver noticed M-chan looking at him, and let her go, blushing slightly.

"So, what do we do with him?" Amy asked, breaking the silence.

M-chan giggled, thinking of ways to torture Jet.

Jet trembled slightly.

M-chan grinned, getting her cell phone.

"Oh, Wave..." She said, her grin widening.

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!**" Jet yelled.

**A FEW MINUTES LATER:**

"Sorry about this, M-chan. Jet must've snuck out, though I'm not exactly sure how he did it." Wave said.

Jet was still inside the barrier, sulking.

"It happens." M-chan said, with a shrug.

"So, what should I do to him?" Wave asked, with a slightly evil grin.

M-chan also grinned.

"No extreme gear for a month." She said, looking at Jet.

"NOOO!!!" Jet said loudly, in a pleading tone.

"Keep him in giant bird cage for the rest of the night." M-chan said, still grinning.

Jet hung his head.

"And...He has to help you re-build that...whatever it was your re-building." M-chan said.

"**NOOO!!!** PLEASE NOT THAT!! ANYTHING BUT THAT!!!!!" Jet yelled.

M-chan turned away from Jet.

"Maybe next time you'll know to leave me alone!" She said, loudly.

Storm and Wave carried a sobbing Jet away.

"Now that that's over..." M-chan said, walking over to the CD player/DJ table.

"Let's get this party started!" She said, as the same titled song started to play.

The others, besides Silver, walked off to the dance floor.

Silver practically snuck out of the room, not doing unnoticed by M-chan.

She set up the next few songs and followed Silver onto the balcony.

Silver was leaning on the railing, deep in thought.

"Hey...Is something wrong?" M-chan asked, walking over and sanding beside him.

"I was thinking...where you and Jet ever friends?" Silver asked.

M-chan laughed.

"Friends?! With that girl crazy bird?! Are you kidding me!?" She said.

Silver smiled.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." He said.

"No kidding!" M-chan said, still laughing.

Silver watched M-chan laugh and he blushed slightly.

He was thinking about how he held M-chan earlier, and M-chan could tell.

"Well, now we know you definitely have a protective streak. You'll make a great boyfriend for someone. Whoever you end up with will be a lucky girl." M-chan said.

Silver's ear twitched and his heart sank.

"...for 'Someone', huh?" He said, quietly.

"Huh?" M-chan asked, confused.

**MEANWHILE:**

Amy, Maria and Rouge were watching them from around the door, a safe distance away.

"What're you three up to?" Sonic asked, from behind the girls.

The three jumped.

"SHHHHH!!!" The girls said, turning around.

"Silver and M-chan are having a moment out there, and I'm NOT missing it!" Amy said.

"Yeah!" Rouge chimed in.

The girls turned their attention back to M-chan and Silver.

"You're wrong about that. I wouldn't be a good boyfriend." Silver said, quietly.

"HUH?! Why not?" M-chan asked.

"Because..." Slver said.

M-chan watched him.

The girls and Sonic watched closely.

"Because, I don't think I could be...unless I was with you." Silver said, trailing off.

M-chan and the girls gasped.

"No...way." Rouge said, quietly.

"I thought so. Have you seen the way he looks at her?" Amy said, quietly.

"If I was with someone else, it wouldn't be fair to them, I'd still be thinking about you. So..." Silver said quietly, starting to blush.

"Me?" M-chan asked, in disbelief.

Silver nodded, not looking at her.

"Silver, I..." M-chan said, quietly.

"Its okay. I know you don't feel that way about me. We're too...different. I'm not exactly human, ya' know." Silver said, looking out at the scenery.

"That's not it!" M-chan said, loudly.

Silver looked at her.

"Its just...I'm older then you. That's always bothered me...so I stayed away." M-chan said.

Silver hugged her, holding her close.

"Only by one year and...4 or 5 months." Silver said.

"You already thought that much about it, huh?" M-chan said with a smile, resting he head on Silver's chest.

Silver nodded.

M-chan raised her head, and looked into Silver's eyes.

Silver rested his forehead on M-chan's.

"Just...tell me how you feel. We'll figure the rest out later." He whispered.

M-chan smiled and closed her eyes.

"Daisuke yo, Silver-kun." She whispered, and kissed him gently on the lips.

The group watching them gasped quietly.

Silver was so stunned he didn't even shut his eyes.

M-chan pulled away and walked off with a smile on her face, leaving a still stunned Silver behind.

"You comin' or not?" She asked, still smiling.

"Uh...Y-yeah, I'm coming." Silver said, blushing dark red.

The group watching them were so stunned they didn't notice M-chan coming their way.

"Did you enjoy the show, guys?" M-chan asked, walking passed them.

"Uh...We were just, uh..." Amy said.

"Uh-huh..." M-chan said.

Taking Silver's hand, the two walked off, leaving the rest of the group behind.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

WELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

READ and REVIEW PLEASE!

MORE ShadMaria COUPLE STUFF NEXT TIME IN CASE YOU WANNA KNOW!

NEXT CHAPTER UP A.S.A.P.


	15. Love Just Is

Whew... UPDATED AT LAST!! DON'T WORRY, I WILL CONTINUE THE STORY...HOPEFULLY I CAN UPDATE SOONER THIS TIME...

READ AND REVIEW, PLEASE!

ENJOY!!

Chapter 15: Love just is...

Amy and the others still stood there as Silver and M-chan walked off.

Maria noticed Shadow looking through the CDs M-chan had laid out.

"Hey, M-chan I guess you're too busy with your new Boyfriend to play more music, so I'll do it." Shadow said.

M-chan glared at Shadow.

"Don't you DARE go NEAR my DJ station!!" M-chan yelled, dashing over to where Shadow stood.

"Track 7, please." Shadow said, handing her a CD.

"Hmph!" M-chan said, snatching the CD.

M-chan read the name, and smiled slightly.

"Good choice." M-chan said, placing the CD in the disk drive.

'Love Just is.' played.

Maria blushed slightly and walked toward Shadow.

Shadow walked over to Maria and bowed.

"May I have this dance?" He asked.

Maria nodded, taking Shadow's hand.

Amy took Sonic's arm, making him blush slightly.

"Come on, Sonic." Amy said, pulling him toward the dance floor.

Silver hit auto-play for the CD and took M-chan's hand.

M-chan smiled at Silver and the two walked onto the dance floor.

"Score another one for the Hedgehog/Human couples." Amy said.

"Yeah, those seem to be getting more common lately." Sonic said.

Amy gave him a look.

"Don't even think about it." She said, in a low tone.

Sonic smiled.

"I have no interest in dating human girls...unless you were Human." He said.

Amy giggled.

M-chan looked over at the other couples.

She watched Shadow and Maria, a concerned look on her face.

'Something tells me...it isn't going to be easy for them to be together. But...' M-chan thought.

"Something wrong, M-chan?" Silver asked.

"Uh, no...its nothing." M-chan said.

'And I might be putting us through the same thing.' She thought, sadly.

Shadow rested his forehead against Maria's and closed his eyes.

"Shadow?" Maria asked, a little worried.

"Nothing. Everything's perfect." Shadow said, quietly.

"You're sure?" Maria asked.

Shadow nodded once.

"We're not the only ones..." Shadow whispered.

"Huh?" Maria asked, looking a little confused.

"Back on Ark, our being...'different' was an issue. It was part of the reason we didn't want anyone to know about us. Now, M-chan and Silver are together and they're not that different from us." Shadow said, quietly.

"Yeah, that's true..." Maria said quietly, with a smile.

"Maybe...we can finally be together without worrying about who discovers the truth about us." Shadow said.

Maria giggle, blushing.

"What?" Shadow asked.

"Just the song's lyrics...someone once told me the same thing...a long time ago." Maria said quietly, with a smile.

FLASHBACK:

Around 1:30 AM, Maria was sitting in front of a large window in the observation deck of the Ark.

She sighed, quietly.

"Maria...?" Shadow said quietly, from behind her.

Maria turned to him.

"Hi." She said, quietly.

"Why aren't you in bed? It's late..." Shadow said, walking over to her.

"I couldn't sleep..." Maria said, quietly

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked, sitting beside her.

"My Grandfather knows about us...I'm sure of it. I'm also sure he doesn't want us together." Maria said, sadly.

"I agree...and it doesn't matter, no one is taking you away from me." Shadow said, taking Maria's hand.

"It does matter! Shadow, my grandfather CAN separate us." Maria said.

Shadow knew it was true...he just hated to admit it.

"Maybe we are...strange. Maybe we're not suppose to be together..." Maria said.

"Maria..." Shadow said.

"We can't be together anymore! We can't see each other anymore..." Maria said, starting to cry.

"I can't do that. I can't just change how I feel about you." Shadow said, pulling her closer to him by her hand.

"I know that. But we can't love each other, we're too...different." Maria said.

"I don't believe that. You mean the world to me... I don't understand why that's so wrong..." Shadow said.

"Its complicated. I guess that's how love is..." Maria said, quietly.

Shadow chuckled quietly.

"No...That's one thing I do know. Love just is, whatever it may be... Love just is, for you and me. Nothing less,  
nothing more...

"But, Shadow...Why...?" Maria asked, sadly.

"Don't ask me for reasons... don't ask me for reasons why I live for you...I just do...I just do..." Shadow said,  
then hugged Maria.

"Shadow..." Maria sobbed.

"I can't even imagine my life without you. I can't lose you...ever." Shadow said.

END FLASHBACK

Shadow laughed, quietly.

"I said that?" He asked.

"You don't remember?" Maria asked.

"I remember...I just don't remember it being so..." Shadow said, hesitating slightly.

"'So' what?" Maria asked.

"What's the word... 'Corny', that's it." Shadow said.

"It was NOT corny. It was sweet." Maria said.

"It was corny...you know it was." Shadow said, quietly.

"It WAS NOT! You could never be corny." Maria said.

Shadow smiled and pulled Maria closer, causing her to blush.

"That's good to hear..." He whispered.

The song ended.

The next song started skipping and M-chan ran over to the player.

"What's wrong with it?" Sonic asked.

"Nothing's WRONG with it!" M-chan snapped at him, causing Sonic to duck behind Amy.

"Aw, no! My CD's been scratched!! I just burned this too!!" M-chan yelled, holding the CD.

"What do you think happened?" Silver asked.

"I have no idea..." M-chan said, quietly.

"SHADOW-KUN!! M-chan yelled.

"What is it?" Shadow asked, annoyed.

"You were the last one who picked up the CDs. Notice anything?" M-chan said.

"It looked fine." Shadow said.

"Hmm..." M-chan mumbled, quietly

"Hehe...the favorite's finally in trouble..." Sonic said quietly, with a grin.

"Sonniku!" M-chan said, loudly.

"I didn't say anything!" Sonic said, putting his arms in front of him in a defensive move

"Hmm...Sounds like Shadow-kun might have been framed..." M-chan said, suspiciously.

"WHA-?! How did this get blamed on me?" Sonic asked.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WELL, I FINALLY GOT TO UPDATE. I'VE BEEN WORKING ON MY OWN OEL MANGA AND ITS TAKEN A TON OF TIME!!!

I'LL DO MY BEST TO UPDATE SOON, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE...


	16. Sweet Dreams

"What's wrong with it?" Sonic asked.

I'M BAAAAAAACK!!!!! CHAPTER 16 AND COUNTING!!!!!

ENJOY!!!!!

I ONLY OWN M-CHAN...:)

Chapter 16: Sweet Dreams...

About an hour later:

Knuckles and Rouge were sitting at a table, eating pizza.

Rouge was looking over at the other couples and smiled.

"Arn't they cute?" She said to no one in particular.

"Who?" Knuckles said, taking a bite of pizza.

"M-chan and Silver, Shadow and Maria... they're adorable..." Rouge said.

"I guess so." Knuckles said.

Rouge groaned, quietly.

"That's all you have to say? M-chan and Silver only got together today and that's all you can say"  
Rouge said.

"Its no shock to me. Even I can tell he likes her." Knuckles said, setting his pizza down.

"Its no shock to me either, but..." Rouge said.

She sighed, realizing Knuckles would never understand.

"Forget it..." Rouge said, quietly.

Knuckles smiled, slightly and stood up.

"Wanna dance some more?" He asked, offering Rouge his hand.

Rouge was a little surprised, but smiled.

"I'd love to..." She said, taking his hand.

"Hey, M-chan! Play "Gypsy Woman"!" Knuckles said.

(Gypsy Woman by: Hilary Duff)

Rouge smirked.

"Cute..." She said sarcasticly, but with a small smile.

"I thought so..." Knuckles said.

M-chan smiled at them, and played the song.

She looked around, and noticed Shadow and Maria were missing.

"Hey, did you see where ShadMaria got to?" M-chan asked Silver.

"Uh, probably on the balcony. What's with combining their names?" Silver asked.

"Those two are practicly joined at the hip for one. Its cute for another." M-chan said.

"What about the others? I'll bet Shadow and Maria arn't the only ones..." Silver said, and smiled at her.

M-chan shook her head.

"SonAmy, ShadMaria, KnuxRouge..." She said, counting off on her fingers.

"Taiream or TailCream is another..." M-chan added, quietly.

"What about...us?" Silver asked, putting his arms around M-chan's shoulders.

"Hmmm...Silver and M-chan...That's going to be tricky..." M-chan said, with a smile.

MEANWHILE:

Shadow and Maria were on the balcony, looking at the stars.

Maria looked sad, and looked down.

"What is it?" Shadow asked, a little worried.

"Is...Ark still...you know..." Maria asked, quietly.

"It needs repairs and its old, but its still 'standing'." Shadow said.

"Good." Maria whispered, hugging Shadow.

He kissed her on the forehead.

'Prof. Gerald is long dead...all of Maria's family memberes are long gone, at least the ones who knew her.  
...except...' Shadow thought.

"Shadow look! A medeor shower!" Maria said, pointing to the sky.

Maria ran to get the others.

Shadow sighed quietly.

He wanted more alone time with Maria, apparently that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

LATER:

The group decided to watch a movie.

After some arguing, they decided on " Chasing Liberty" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".

Around 12am, Shadow noticed Maria'd fallen asleep, her head resting on his shoulder.

He smiled, slightly.

'I can carry her upstairs later.' Shadow thought, not having the heart to wake Maria.

By 12:45, Shadow was the only one who was still awake.

Rouge and Knuckles were curled up on a giant bean-bag chair.

Shadow smiled, seeing Knuckles unintentionally or intentionally put his arm around Rouge.

Sonic was asleep on the couch and Amy was stretched out beside him, her head in his lap.

Shadow almost laughed at that.

'Where's a camera when you need one...?' He thought.

M-chan and Silver were in a similar position.

Shadow stood up, and picked up Maria.

He carried her upstairs to her room.

As Shadow tucked her in, Maria woke up.

"Well, 'Sleeping Beauty' awakens." Shadow said quietly, with a smile.

Maria nodded, sleepily.

Shadow turned to leave.

Maria took Shadow's hand.

"Stay..." She said, quietly.

Shadow blushed.

He turned to face Maria.

She was blushing too.

"Maria...I..." Shadow said, still blushing.

He wanted to stay with her, its what he wanted all day...alone time with his beloved Maria.

Shadow nodded once as his blush started to fade.

He laid next to Maria and she hugged him.

Then, she backed away and sat up.

"What is it?" Shadow asked.

"I have to change. I can't sleep in this." Maria said, getting out of bed.

She got some pajamas out of the dresser and went in her bathroom.

Shadow sighed quietly, she was gone again and it was becoming a pattern

ABOUT FIVE MINUTES LATER:

Maria came out in a pink short sleeved top and pajamas pants set.

"Sorry about that." Maria said, getting in bed and laying next to him.

"Don't worry about it." Shadow said, putting his arm around Maria's waist.

Maria sighed quietly, putting her arm around Shadow's waist.

"What do you think about the party? Did you have fun?" Shadow asked.

"Mm-hmm, what about you?" Maria said, her head on Shadow's shoulder/chest.

"Of course. I got to dance with you didn't I?" Shadow said, with a smile.

Maria nodded and kissed Shadow on the cheek.

He blushed slightly.

Shadow remembered the last time he kissed Maria.

He propped himself up on one elbow and Maria blushed, seeing the look in Shadow's eyes.

She closed her eyes.

Shadow kissed Maria gently and pulled back.

Maria smiled and kissed Shadow.

Shadow was surprised by this, and blushed

He pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

Maria slowly pulled away.

Shadow looked nervous, wondering if that was a mistake.

To Shadow's relief, Maria smiled and blushed slightly.

She hugged him and laid her head on his chest/shoulder.

"I love you, Shadow." Maria whispered.

Shadow held Maria closer.

"I love you too, Maria." Shadow whispered.

Maria noticed something out the corner of her eye and looked over at the window.

"Hey, look... the meteor shower started again." Maria said.

She snuggled closer to Shadow, laying her head down.

Shadow smiled, looking down at her then watching the meteor shower.

Maria absently stroked the patch of white fur on Shadow's chest.

Shadow blushed, and sighed quietly.

'She has no idea the of the effects she has on me...' He thought.

"Shadow..." Maria said, quietly.

"Hmm?" Shadow asked.

Maria held Shadow tighter, seemingly afraid.

"Maria? What's wrong?" Shadow asked.

"Can we... visit Ark? Is it safe to go back?

"It should be safe enough. Why?" Shadow said.

"Don't you think its strange? There was a meteor shower earlier, and it started again in the same day. I've never seen something like that before. It worries me..." Maria said, quietly.

Shadow's eyes widened slightly.

'Now that I think about it...' Shadow thought.

"I'm worried its a bad sign... I feel like there's something wrong. Like someone's going to come after me"  
Maria whispered, almost afraid to say it.

Shadow kissed Maria on the forehead, and brushed some of Maria's hair away from her face.

"Its alright, Maria. You're safe with me." Shadow said, quietly.

Maria smiled slightly.

"I know... But, I wonder... WHO would come after me? No one knows I'm... back. No one would believe its possible for me to be back." Maria said.

"I know. Try not to worry about it." Shadow said.

He only hoped he'd managed to, for once, keep something from Maria without her suspecting something.

'Doctor Eggman...He may have only been an infant when Maria... well... But he DOES know the power of the chaos emeralds. But, why would the doctor... it doesn't make since.' Shadow thought.

Shadow felt Maria take his hand.

She blushed and she giggled quietly.

"Maria...?" Shadow said, confused.

He blushed, feeling Maria fidget with his glove.

She took off Shadow's glove and held his hand.

Shadow blushed darker but tried to cover up his embarrassed expression.

Maria giggled at his expression.

"You're so cute when you blush." She said, quietly.

Their fingers intertwined and Shadow and Maria kissed.

Maria smiled at Shadow and laid her head down.

"Good-night, Shadow." She whispered.

"Good-night, Maria." Shadow whispered, and kissed the top of her head.

The two soon fell asleep, still holding hands.

TO BE CONTINUED...

(Author's Note: I don't know about in the games, but in my story, Shadow not wearing gloves is like a human guy without a shirt. Not a HUGE deal, but it embarrasses Shadow anyway.)

I'LL UPDATE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Preview summery of the next 'episode':

Shadow and Maria plan their trip to visit Ark and are spotted by some reporters.

Hmm... I wonder what the tabloids will say...

Eggman makes a shocking discovery in his grandfather's 'diary' and takes a sudden interest in a certain tabloid photo...


	17. The News Is Out! prt 1

I'M BACK!! SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG.

NOTE: Konichiwa Hello; Good Afternoon

CHAPTER 17: The News Is Out!! prt 1

The next morning, Maria woke up in Shadow's arms.

She smiled at him and tried to sit up.

Shadow tightened his grip on her.

"You're not going anywhere..." He grumbled.

Maria sighed, quietly.

She laid her head down on Shadow's chest, listening to his heartbeat.

'Could we really be together? I barely dare to hope this is be real...' Maria thought.

MEANWHILE:

Eggman was typing on his giant computer, looking through Prof. Gerald's old 'diary'.

'Looks like there's nothing in here of use to me if Shadow won't join me...' Eggman thought.

With a bored expression, he clicked onto another file.

"HUH?" Eggman said, standing up in surprise.

There were two files inside it. One called 'Research: M&S' and the other was 'M.& S. Conclusions'

"These files weren't here before... I'm sure of it..." Eggman said, quietly to himself.

He clicked onto the one called 'Research: M&S'.

The diary read...

Nov. 16th.

"Shadow seems to be developing like a normal...well, child. However, he keeps asking is he's the only one his age here. I've caught him staring the photo of Maria on my desk several times. I think its time the two meet..."

Nov. 18th

"Those two are inseparable now! I've never seen either of them so happy before. I think those two will be best friends for a very long time."

Dec. 10th

"Shadow has been so distracted lately. He's been trying to decide on a Christmas present for Maria. I've never seen him so determined, not even in his training."

Dec. 26th

"I'm not exactly sure what I saw but... I saw Shadow and Maria under the mistletoe. One of the other scientists held one over them and the two were 'forced to' kiss. It was only on the cheek, but, to see the look on Shadow's face... I can't help but wonder if... No, it couldn't be."

Jan 1st

"I saw Shadow and Maria together last night, holding hands as the clock struck midnight. Shadow seems to be growing up faster then I thought he would... I wonder if... No, they're just friends."

Jan 20th

"Shadow's already a teenager, attitude and all. I'd guess he's about... 14 or so. Strange, considering he's only about 7 in human years. Shadow acts older then Maria already."

Feb 5th

"The whole Ark is a buzz with the St. Valentines day decorations. Shadow's never been so confused! But, I wonder sometimes... Its almost like Shadow's planning something... I just wish I knew what."

Feb 15th

"I saw Shadow and Maria together last night. He'd run off to her room with a teddy bear he'd made for her. I think Shadow maybe falling in love with her. That's fine with me if he has a little crush on her... So why does it still bother me that he does?"

END ENTRY PART ONE

"So, Shadow might have fallen for Maria... But, why would my Grandfather kept records of all this? What would it matter if Shadow did have feelings for Maria? Why would it bother him so much?" Eggman said to himself.

MEANWHILE:

Shadow and Maria were getting ready for there trip to Ark.

Maria was packing a small backpack.

She sighed quietly.

"I'm not sure we have the right supplies." Maria said.

Shadow was sitting on the bed, a few feet behind her.

He was smiling slightly and didn't seem to hear her.

"Shadow? What's with you?" Maria asked.

"Its nothing." Shadow said, still smiling.

"Oo-kay..." Maria said, suspiciously.

"I'll probably need to go shopping before we leave. How long do you think we'll stay?" She asked, going back to packing.

"Overnight I think. Bring an empty bag in case you find things you want to bring back with us." Shadow said.

"Good idea." Maria said with a smile, turning to Shadow.

The two heard footsteps running down the hall, and two girls laughing.

"That sounds like M-chan and Amy." Maria said.

The girls knocked on the door, quietly.

"Come on in." Maria said.

M-chan and Amy quickly and quietly walked in the room and shut the door behind them.

"What's going on?" Shadow asked.

"Nothing. Konichiwa, Shadow-kun." M-chan said.

Shadow made a face, and looked away.

"We're playing a game with Cream. The problem is: We made a bet with Sonic and Silver." Amy said, blushing.

Maria smiled, and tried not to laugh.

"You need a place to hide." She said.

"Desperately!" M-chan said, a little louder then she intended.

She covered her mouth, but it was too late.

"I know that voice..." They heard Silver say from a distance.

"Into the closet." Maria said, quietly.

M-chan and Amy scrambled over to the closet.

"I think we're getting closer..." Sonic said, quietly from the wall way.

"M-chan, come on!" Silver said, loudly.

"Amy, come on out!" Sonic called to her.

MEANWHILE, IN THE HALLWAY:

Sonic grinned slyly.

"I know how to get her to come out..." He said, quietly.

Silver looked over at Sonic, a little confused.

"What're you planning to do?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sonic's grin widened slightly.

"You'll see..." He said, quietly.

Sonic's expression turned a little sad.

"I guess I'll just have to give those Twinkle Park tickets to someone else." He said loudly.

In the closet, Amy's face lit up and she started to open the closet doors.

M-chan grabbed her arm.

"Be strong, Amy. He's just trying to lure you out." She said, quietly.

Amy looks back at M-chan and nodded sadly.

"Huh...Maybe she didn't hear me." Sonic said, crossing his arms.

Shadow sighed quietly, sitting on the bed.

'This is stupid...' He thought.

"I know!" Sonic said, slamming his fist into his open hand.

"Or maybe I'll take that cute Raccoon girl down the street instead." Sonic said, loudly.

Amy looked shocked and hung her head.

M-chan looked confused, then worried.

Amy's eyes ignited with flames.

"Amy, don't do it!" M-chan said, quietly.

Amy burst through the closet doors.

"YOU WILL NOT!!" Amy yelled, running up to and tackling Sonic.

"Gotcha!" Sonic said, with a grin.

Amy's anger faded.

"OH-NO!!" She said, and covered her face.

"You lose, Amy." Sonic said, sitting up.

"You tricked me!" Amy said loudly, backing away.

Sonic smiled at her and swiftly picked her up.

"You're coming with me, Pinkie..." Sonic said, slyly.

M-chan rolled her eyes, hearing Amy sigh.

"Amy, where's M-chan?" Silver asked.

Amy shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"I'm not sure. We split up a while ago." Amy said, a sincere tone in her voice.

Hiding in the closet, M-chan looked a little surprised, then smiled.

'Good girl, Amy!' She thought.

Silver groaned, quietly and walked off.

Sonic ran off with Amy in his arms.

Maria walked over to the door and closed it.

"What did you two bet, anyway?" Shadow asked, still sitting on the bed.

M-chan came out of the closet.

"Amy bet that the winner gets to go on a 'fantasy date'. I got dragged into it somehow." She said, some-what sad.

"Well, since you're free, could you maybe come shopping with me? Shadow and I need supplies for our trip to Ark" Maria said, walking back over to the backpack.

"Sure! I know exactly where to go, too!" M-chan said.

"AH-HA!! I knew it!" Silver said, opening the door quickly.

"Uh-oh..." M-chan said, with a sweat drop on her forehead.

"Fortunately for you, I don't mind coming along with you." Silver said, leaning against the door frame.

M-chan backs away slightly.

"Are you coming too Shadow?" Maria asked, putting her backpack over her shoulder.

"Do you have to ask?" Shadow asked, with a smile and jumps off the bed.

A sweat-drop appeared on the side of Maria's head.

"Right. I should know by now..." She said, and headed toward the door.

Shadow and Maria headed down the hall while M-chan and Silver just looked at each other.

"Come on, you two." Maria said, from down the hall.

M-chan walked toward the door, trying to ignore Silver's staring at her.

As M-chan walked past Silver, he quickly hovered up to her height, kissing her on the cheek gently.

"I was afraid you'd do that..." M-chan said, with a small smile as she walked off.

TO BE CONTINUED...

FINALLY UPDATED!! :) I'VE BEEN SOOOOOOOOOO BUSY!! PLUS, I WANTED TO UPADATE ALL MY STORIES AT ONE TIME... BAD IDEA... I'LL UPADATE AGAIN A.S.A.P

READ AND REVIEW PEOPLE! I LOVE HEARING PEOPLE LIKE THIS STORY!! :)


	18. The News Is Out! prt 2

I'M BACK!! FINALLY!! WELL, HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER!

R&R PLEASE!

ENJOY!!

Note: Dijobu It's alright, Gomen casual 'sorry'

CHAPTER 18: The News Is Out!! prt 2

Eggman was typing on the keyboard again, and leaned back in his chair.

'Why would my grandfather care if Shadow had fallen for Maria? And why does it bother ME that he did care?' He thought.

Eggman typed a few keys and brings up the file again.

The file read:

March 1:

"Shadow's been going missing at night. I was sure he was sneaking off to Maria's room, but he was only going to one of the observatory rooms. He looks worried, I just don't know what about. I'll just have to wonder..."

March 23:

"Shadow's grown up... and I'm not exactly thrilled over the now '16' year old's feelings for Maria. It's not a crush... It's... not something I want to admit yet."

April 3:

"Maria and Shadow are too close for my comfort level... I see a look in Shadow's eyes that I don't think is appropriate. It's got nothing to do with Shadow being a hedgehog and Maria not, it's me being over protective..."

April 29:

"That does it! I can't let this go on anymore! I have to figure out a way to separate them. Dropping hints to Shadow isn▓t helping. However, if Maria falls for someone else, I bet he'll back off."

May 21:

"Maria disappeared today for 4 hours. When I found her, she'd been crying... and I know Shadow had been with her.  
If he did something to her I'll...!!"

June 1:

"I've just received word from Earth. They have some concerns about Shadow... It looks like Shadow's feelings for Maria and visa-versa are the last thing I should be worried about right now..."

END ENTRY

"I see..." Eggman said, quietly.

He leaned back in his chair.

'If Maria had survived, I wonder what would've happened with those two...' Eggman thought.

Eggman had wondered about Maria when he was growing up, but no one ever seemed to want to answer the questions he had.

As it turned out, they didn't know how to answer.

While Maria was her grandfather's pride and joy, because she lived on Ark, he couldn't say much about what her life there. Too many "Top Secret" things she was involved in, or more to the point, played with.

Eggman typed on the keyboard again and the news turned come on the screen.

MEANWHILE:

Shadow, Maria, Silver and M-chan were walking around the mall.

A lot of the people were staring at them.

"Why are they staring at us?" Maria asked M-chan, a little intimidated.

The two girls were looking at backpacks while the guys were checking out the rest of the store.

"Either they recognize Shadow-kun, or because of the Human/Hedgehog element." M-chan said.

Maria sighed, quietly.

"It looks like it's considered a strange pairing no matter where we are..." She said, sadly.

M-chan put her hand on Maria's shoulder.

"Dijobu, Maria-chan. So they thinks it's strange, big deal. What's the worst they can do? Besides, it could just be that it's surprising to see Shadow-kun with a girl. He does have a rep. ya' know." M-chan said, with a wink and smile.

Maria laughed, quietly.

The two heard camera▓s flashing followed by Shadow's yelp and crashing sounds.

"What was...?!" M-chan said.

Shadow and Silver ran from around the corner, with Paparazzi several feet behind them.

"Uh-oh, this could be bad..." M-chan said, a sweat-drop on the side of her head.

"Let's get outta here!" Silver said, grabbing M-chan's hand.

Shadow picked Maria up and the group ran off.

A FEW MINUTES LATER:

M-chan and Silver were looking around the corner at the Paparazzi, who were looking around.

"I think we're safe for right now. But, it won't be long before they find us again." M-chan said, quietly.

The two go further into the room and sat beside Shadow and Maria.

"What happened anyway?" Maria asked.

"Well..." Shadow said, unsure how to answer.

"Those insane Paparazzi snuck up on us. Shadow was so stunned be the flash, he knocked over several racks of clothes and we ran off." Silver said.

Shadow glared at Silver while the girls started laughing.

"It wasn't that funny." Shadow said.

"Gomen, Shadow-kun." M-chan said, with a giggle.

"What should we do now?" Maria asked, worried.

The Paparazzi found them and started snapping pictures.

"Run!!" M-chan yelled.

The two couples split up, the Paparazzi splitting up with them.

Shadow carries Maria and after about 20 minutes of running, the two stopped.

"This is crazy!" Maria said, trying to be quiet.

"I know... we should split up. It would be easier on you." Shadow said, sadly.

"But, Shadow..." Maria said.

"Don't make this harder on me." Shadow said, sadly.

"Alright." Maria said.

Maria kissed Shadow gently, to his surprise.

The sound of camera▓s flashing is heard, breaking up Shadow and Maria.

Shadow picked Maria up and ran off.

"What was that about splitting up?" Maria asked, with a smile.

A sweat-drop appears on the side of Shadow's head.

ABOUT AN HOUR LATER, EGGMAN WAS WATCHING THE NEWS.

"In Celebrity news, sorry ladies, it seems the loner black/red Hedgehog everyone seems to love has a girlfriend"  
The female reporter said.

Eggman groaned, starting to change the channel.

Pictures of Shadow and Maria appear on the screen.

Eggman hesitated.

"Shadow the Hedgehog was seen with a blue eyed blonde at the mall today and the town is already a-buzz with reactions." The female reporter said.

"Shadow's dating a human? I can't see him dating anyone." A teenage boy said.

"ITS NOT FAIR!! WHAT ABOUT US?!" Two girl anthro-cats yelled, teary eyed.

"Anthro/Human... strange couple." A man said.

Eggman stared at the picture of Shadow and Maria, looking confused, as other people are interviewed.

"It can't be... She can't be..." Eggman said quietly, to himself.

"But, she looks just like... Maria." He said, quietly.

DUN DUN DUN!!

TO BE CONTINUED...

WHAT WILL EGGMAN THINK?

WHAT WILL HE DO?

NEXT TIME: The Reactions


	19. The Reactions prt 1

I'M BACK AGAIN!!

I NEED TO KNOW SOMETHING: IS THIS STORY WELL WRITEN? I'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF GOOD REVIEWS** (THANK YOU, btw!!)**

BUT, I SUBMITTED AN ORIGINAL STORY A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, AND IT'S BEEN BUGGING ME SINCE THEN.

THE EDITOR HAD INTEREST IN IT, BUT ONLY WANTED IT IF THE WHOLE STORY WAS RE-DONE THEIR WAY.

AFTER I SAID THE STORY JUSTIFIED ITSELF IN THE END, THE EDITOR BASICLY SAID I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT:  
"CONSTITUTED A STRONG STORY".

I'M CURIOUS IF THIS STORY IS DOING WELL, STORY-LINE WISE.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Chapter 19: The Reactions prt 1

Eggman stared at the TV screen, in shock.

"It can't be..." Eggman said, quietly.

'Maria died more then 50 years ago. I've never believed in reincarnation, but this...makes me wonder.' He thought

"I wonder..." Eggman said to himself.

**MEANWHILE:**

M-chan and Silver were hiding on the roof of the mall.

They had run for what seemed like forever, and were still panting slightly.

"I wonder... if ShadMaria made it out alright." M-chan said.

"If Shadow got the chance, he'd Chaos Control them out of there." Silver said.

"Without a Chaos Emerald? Only if I had my fake one." M-chan said quietly, leaning back on the staircase wall.  
(A/N: When you go up to the roof on some buildings, the staircase has walls around it and I don't know what it's called )

"Well, we'll remember next time." Silver said.

"Oh-NO! I don't wanna go through this again! EVER!" M-chan said, shaking her head.

"On the upside, we're together... alone..." Silver said, coming closer to M-chan.

"Oh no you don't. Soon as you kiss me, Reporters are gonna pounce." M-chan said, slightly pushing Silver away.

"I'll risk it." Silver said, grabbing M-chan and tried to kiss her.

M-chan shrieked, twisting and turning away from Silver.

"You've been hanging out with Shadow-kun and Sonic too much!" She said, giggling.

"Really? You think so?" Silver asked.

"Huh... I don't know about that..." He added, looking up slightly.

Using speed M-chan didn't know Silver had, he kissed her.

The two then heard a helicopter engine.

A news helicopter flew over, then hovered over them.

"I told you." M-chan said, with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah..." Silver said, grabbing M-chan's hand and running.

**MEANWHILE:**

Shadow and Maria were hiding in one of the stores in the mall.

"I think we're okay for now." Maria said, looking around the corner.

Shadow was leaning against the wall, with a sad expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Shadow?" Maria asked, looking back at Shadow.

"I'm just... Thinking of how much more complicated this is going to get. It probably only going to get worse" Shadow said, quietly.

Maria giggled quietly, and held Shadow's hand gently.

"What did you think was going to happen? You're a celebrity, after all." Maria said.

Shadow let out a half-hearted laugh.

"A celebrity, huh? How did that happen, I wonder..." Shadow said, quietly.

"Well, you **DID** help Sonic and the others in several battles." Maria said, with a smile.

"Yeah, and if I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it." Shadow said, with a small smile.

"Shadow! I hope you don't meet that." Maria said, trying to stay quiet.

"No, I don't mean it. I would've done it now matter what... because I knew it would've made you happy." Shadow said, quietly.

Maria blushed slightly, and smiled.

"There they are!" Someone yelled.

Camera lights start flashing as Shadow and Maria started running.

"We're never going to get anywhere like this!" Maria said, before Shadow picked her up.

"I know. But, we can't leave without M-chan and Silver." Shadow said, turning a corner.

"Aww, thanks Shadow-kun." M-chan said, running beside Shadow and Maria.

"Let's get outta here. These people are crazy!" Silver said, coming up from behind M-chan.

"I second that!" M-chan said.

"Yeah, but how? We're practically surrounded." Maria said.

"You two go on ahead, Silver and I will distract the reporters. You two are the ones they're really after." M-chan said, and spun around to the paparazzi.

Pulling a small pink/blue swirl color bag out of nowhere, M-chan spiked it toward the reporters, causing purple smoke to gush out of the bag.

"Silver-kun!" M-chan said loudly, turning to Silver.

Silver put up a barrier in front of the smoke, blocking the reporters from coming closer while the smoke blocks their view.

"That should hold 'em for a while." Silver said.

"Yeah..." M-chan said, and looked in Shadow and Maria's direction.

"Long gone from the looks of it." Silver said.

"Good thing too. With Shadow's speed, they should be back to the house in about 10 minutes." M-chan said.

"I can beat that." Silver said with a grin.

He picked up M-chan and flew off.

"Are you crazy?! They'll see us!" M-chan said, loudly.

"Not if I go fast enough!" Silver said, with a wink.

"You've been hanging around Blue Boy WAY too much!" M-chan said, loudly.

"Hmm... Yep, sure have!" Silver said and kissed M-chan.

The two barely missed a building.

"You better **NOT** make us run into a building and get us killed!" M-chan said, loudly.

"I won't." Silver said, defensively.

He smiled slyly.

"But, if something happened... as long as I was kissing you, I'd never know. And, probably wouldn't care" Silver said, and kissed M-chan again.

'Note to self: **KILL** Sonic for his bad influence on Silver!' M-chan thought, angrily.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

WELL, THAT'S THE LATEST CHAPTER.

SORRY IF SILVER'S A LITTLE OOC, IT WAS SOMEWHAT NESSISARY.

I'LL UPDATE AS SOON AS I CAN, BUT I'M SO BUSY THESE DAYS!!

CHECK OUT MY PROFILE FOR LINKS/INFO ABOUT MY VIDS ON YOUTUBE!  
(IF YOU DON'T HAVE A YOUTUBE ACCOUNT, FEEL FREE TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK VIA MESSAGE OR CHAPTER REVIEW)

NEXT CHAPTER:

The Reactions prt 2


	20. The Reactions prt 2

I'M BACK AGAIN!!! I'M SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE!!! GOMENASAI MINNA-SAN!! (I'M SO SORRY EVERYONE!!) I STARTED POSTING ONE OF MY OEL MANGA SERIES, CALLED "_My Boyfriend's an Anime Character_", ON 'WirePop' AND IT'S BEEN VERY STRESSFUL!!!! (See profile for details and link)

THIS LONG AWATED CHAPTER IS A BIT LONGER THEN MY OTHER CHAPTERS SO I HOPE YOU LIKE IT :)

WELL, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!!!

'Minna, doko no' = 'Everyone, where are you' (or 'Where are you guys?')

**_CHAPTER 20: The Reactions prt 2_**

Shadow and Maria were arriving at the house.

"I can't believe those reporters! Now I know how those actors and singers feel!" Maria said, as Shadow sat her down.

Shadow didn't say anything, he was lost in thought.

"Shadow?" Maria said, looking at him.

Shadow didn't respond.

"Hey, Shadow...?" Maria said, a little worried.

"Huh? Did you say something, Maria?" Shadow said, coming out of his daze, and looking at Maria.

"Yeah, but it's nothing too important. What's on your mind?" Maria said, still looking worried.

Shadow hesitated, looking away.

"Those reporters... I'm just wondering what they'll say about us." He said, still looking a worried.

"Oh." Maria whispered.

She turned toward the house again.

"Well, we'll just have to watch the 'Celebrity News' tonight and find out." Maria said looking over her shoulder at Shadow.

Shadow forced a smile.

"I guess so." He said.

The two walked toward the house, Shadow lagging behind.

For once, Maria didn't pick up on the fake smile and Shadow was relieved about that.

'I don't want to know what they say... More importantly, I don't want Maria to know what they say about us.  
She was always the one to point out our differences. The last thing we need is for that to turn out to really be an issue with the rest of the world. I don't want to know how she'd take that...' Shadow thought.

The two heard a scream from a distance.

"**SILVER!** Don't you dare! You **WILL _NOT_** drop me! Will you- AGH!!!" Maria and Shadow heard as the screams got closer.

"I think that's M-chan." Maria said.

"M-chan, stop squirming!" Silver said, loudly.

"Silver-kun no Baka!" M-chan said, crossing her arms and looking away.

"You're saying I'm stupid? M-chan's so mean..." Silver moped, quietly.

"Don't you start that." M-chan said.

Silver landed in front of Shadow and Maria and put M-chan down.

"Were you followed?" Shadow asked.

"Well, 'hi' to you too Shadow-kun." M-chan said, with eyes narrowed and a grin.

"No, we managed to lose 'em along the way. But, we should go inside soon just in-case." Silver said.

"Right, that's a good idea." Maria said.

"Good thing I've got a ton of movies here already, because I've got a feeling we'll be held up in this place for a LONG time." M-chan said as the group went inside the house.

"Really? How did this happen again?" Maria said with a sigh.

"Well, we were shopping and talking about the other people staring at us then out of no-where we're blinded by cameras flashing in our faces." M-chan said, closing and locking the doors behind them.

The other three stared at her.

"What? That's how it happened. I have a photographic/Ti-Vo memory." M-chan said, turning toward the group.

"Okay, where are the others?" Silver wondered.

"Well, let's look around." M-chan said.

M-chan and Silver went upstairs, while Shadow and Maria looked around downstairs.

"Minna! Doko no?" M-chan said, looking into one of the rooms.

"In here!" Amy said, loudly from a room at the end of the hall.

M-chan and Silver walked down the hall, finding Amy and Rouge watching TV.

"You won't believe what's they've been talking about! It's been all over the place for the past hour!" Amy said, pointing to the TV.

M-chan walked over and sat down on the small couch with the two girls, while Silver leaned on the doorframe.

"Reporters are still staking out the mall, looking for a trace of the latest 'Celebrity possible couple.  
Shadow the Hedgehog was seen today with an unknown blonde. All is a-buzz about the identity of the girl, but there's still no information." A female reporter said, as pictures of Shadow and Maria are shown in the corner.

"That's not good." M-chan said, quietly.

"What happened there anyway? You four went to the mall to go shopping and then THIS happens!" Amy said.

"Well, we were in a store looking at the backpacks and people were staring at us. Next thing we know, cameras are flashing in our faces and we're on the run." M-chan said.

"Aw, man... You pretty much went there for nothing, huh?" Amy commented.

"What do you mean by that?" M-chan asked confused, with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't have any bags with you." Amy said.

M-chan's eyes shot wide and she gasped, looking around at her feet.

"_OH NO_!!!" She shrieked, hands going to her face.

"I must've dropped them along the way!!" M-chan yelled, turning to Silver.

"I've gotta go get 'em!" She added.

"Are you crazy?! If those reporters recognize you, they'll eat you alive!" Rouge said.

"Rouge's right, M-chan. You can't go back now." Silver said, standing closer to M-chan.

"But, if I don't, all that we went through would be for nothing!" M-chan said, looking down at him.

"I'm not letting you go out there for those reporters to attack you over something so trivial!" Silver said.

"It's not trivial! Shadow and Maria wanted to visit Ark, and they needed supplies, like backpacks. If I don't go back now, it'll take even longer for them to go!" M-chan argued, her hands in loose fists now.

"They can't really go at this point anyway. Even with one of Tails ships, it would draw even more attention"  
Silver argued back, crossing his arms and turning away slightly.

"It's too risky." He added.

M-chan groaned quietly, hands in fists on her hips as she and Silver glared at each other.

Rouge and Amy looked at each other, hands over their mouths in attempt to keep from laughing.

Silver and M-chan did look a little odd, considering M-chan was just over two feet taller then Silver, and leaning over a bit to compensate for the height difference.

M-chan studied Silver's golden eyes and blushed slightly, causing Silver to blush too, but he still for the most part, looked determined.

She sat down on her legs, so she'd be eye level with Silver.

Silver kept his determined expression, as M-chan looked at him and batted her eyes.

"You worry about me too much..." She said, leaning toward him.

Rouge and Amy hid their grins, and exchanged a glance.

"You're so sweet..." M-chan cooed, and kissed Silver gently on the lips.

Silver's whole face turned red.

While he and M-chan had kissed plenty of times, being in front of there friends had a more embarrasing effect.

Silver fainted and M-chan stood up.

"Now that that's taken care of..." She said, and picked Silver up.

M-chan carried Silver to a nearby couch.

"You've gotta tell me how you do that." Amy said, with a grin.

"It's mostly Silver's doing. He's a little frisky when no one's around. But, around other people, especially friends, kissing him makes him faint." M-chan said, caressing Silver's sleeping face.

She smiled slightly then walked toward the door.

"I'm going to get the things I felt behind at the store. If I'm lucky, I dropped them along the way instead of leaving them at the mall." M-chan said.

"And hopefully you'll be back before Silver wakes up." Rouge said.

"I don't want to be the one to tell him where you went." She added with a laugh.

"Me neither!" Amy said, laughing.

"Alright, I'm gone." M-chan said, walking out the room door.

"Good luck!" Amy called after her.

M-chan walked down the hall, and reached into a small bag on her belt.

'Silver doesn't know every trick of mine...' She thought.

When M-chan's hand re-emerged from the bag, it was covered in glowing silver/blue glitter.

She wiped her hand over her face, changing her make-up to purple eye shadow and a med pink lipstick. (A/N: Just a little darker then Amy's 'hair')

M-chan's normal hair changed to long, wavy, and black.

She smiled to herself as she walked out the door, her clothes changing to a white shirt, dark blue pants and black jacket.

'Silver wouldn't have had an issue with me going back if he knew I could disguise myself, but I'd rather keep him in the dark for now.' M-chan thought to herself and giggled quietly.

_**ABOUT AN HOUR LATER: **Amy and Rouge caught Maria and Shadow up on the previous events as they sat in the living room._

Shadow and Maria had walked out to the back of the house.

"Maybe we should watch TV for a bit, to see if they're still talking about us." Maria suggested.

Shadow visibly tensed, but Maria didn't seem to notice.

"I second that. I've gotta see this!" Sonic said.

"I'm back! The wounded warrior victoriously arrives safe and sound." M-chan said, walking in the front door, her normal appearance restored.

Silver bolted to the door.

"You tricked me!" He said, loudly.

M-chan smiled at Silver and put down the bags she was carrying.

"Yes, I did. Gotcha' good didn't I, my sweetest." She said.

"That wasn't fair and you won't sweet talk me into forgetting about it." Silver said, crossing his arms.

"Aww... you're mean, Silver-kun. Blaze was be on my side." M-chan pouted.

Silver tensed.

"Blaze was... you called Blaze?" He asked, worried.

"Yep. She told me to tell you if you give me too much grief about this, she'd tell me all about 'Kina'" M-chan said. (A/N: it's said 'Kee-nah')

Silver paled slightly.

"So, who's Kina? Old Girlfriend or something?" M-chan asked, eyes narrowed and crossing her arms.

"N-n- No it's nothing like that!" Silver said, loudly.

"Oh really...?" M-chan said, suspiciously.

"Really! It's not like that, honest!" Silver said, arms waving around for emphasis.

"Okay, okay I believe you." M-chan said, picking up the bags and walking into the living room.

Silver sighed in relief as he followed.

"Hey, M-chan. The reporters give you too much trouble?" Rouge asked.

"Nah, apparently they didn't recognize me by myself." M-chan said, handing Maria her shopping bag.

"Thank you so much, M-chan. I don't know what we'd do without you." Maria said, with a smile.

"Aww, stop it. You're embarrassing me!" M-chan said, covering her face with her hands.

"Look, the 'Celebrity News' is coming on!" Amy said, pointing to the TV.

Shadow sank down in his seat, wanting to disappear.

"Welcome to 'Celebrity News'. I'm Barbi Baker. Today, we're covering a very interesting couple." A cat-girl reporter said.

"It seems Shadow the Hedgehog has found love with an unknown human blonde." Barbi said, with a grin.

Shadow inwardly cringed when the reporter said the word 'human'.

'I don't like the sound of that... it's clear she's human when you see her.' He thought, a little worried.

A series of pictures and videos of Shadow and Maria at the mall were shown, including on of them kissing.

"Her identity is still unknown, and how long the two have been together is also a mystery. In any case, it's clear Shadow and the mystery girl are very much in love." Barbi said.

The sound of 'Awwww's echoed through the living room, causing Maria and Shadow to blush.

"What's goin' on?" Sonic asked, walking over to the couch.

"We're watching the 'Celebrity News' report on Shadow and Maria." Amy said.

"They're still talking about this?" Knuckles said, walking into the room.

"Yep. They can't get enough of 'em!" M-chan said, with a grin as she leaned over the back of the couch.

"Let's here what Shadow's many fans have to say." Barbi said, as the smaller screen started to cover the rest.

There was a group of crying and wailing girls (of various species).

"NO SHADOW!! SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!" The girls wailed.

"Aww... poor Shadow's fangirls." Rouge said, with a smile.

Shadow 'palmed' his face.

"It seems to be a consensus against the pairing with them. But, who can blame them?" Barbi asked, smiling.

"I can't _BELIEVE_ Shadow's got a girlfriend..." A dog girl said, looking shocked.

"I'm not surprised Shadow has a girlfriend..." Another dog girl said.

Maria smiled and leaned against Shadow a little as M-chan 'awww'ed at them.

"The only thing that surprises me about it is that she's human." The dog girl said.

M-chan's smile faded a bit, starting to worry a little.

"Shadow's actually dating a human girl? That's... a little weird." A rabbit girl said.

"Yeah, dating a human just seems... wrong." A raccoon boy said.

'Oh no... Not this...' M-chan thought, leaning on the back of the couch.

"That's so weird! Yeah, most of us anthros do date 'inter-species', but a hedgehog and a human... are just too different." A bat girl said.

Shadow inwardly cringed.

'This isn't good.' He thought.

"Shadow's such a rebel!" A hedgehog girl swooned.

Shadow glanced up at Maria.

Maria's eyes were wide and one hand covered her mouth from shock.

Shadow growled quietly, and glared at the TV as if it was his worst enemy.

"Why aren't we good enough Shadow-kun!?" The fan club girl cried, some of them hugging each other and crying.

"Humans and anthros shouldn't be together!" A weasel girl said.

M-chan saw tears come to Maria's eyes.

"Why did you abandon us for some stupid human girl?!" The fangirls wailed.

Shadow threw a remote at the TV, putting a hole through to the wall behind it.

"Shadow!!" Amy yelled.

"How DARE they say that about Maria!" Shadow said, loudly.

"Easy, Shadow" Sonic said, a sweat-drop on the side of his head.

Shadow seemed to ignore them.

'This is bad... Maria was worried about this back on Ark. And now... well...' He thought.

Maria stood up from the couch and started toward the stairs.

"Maria... Are you okay?" M-chan asked.

Maria nodded, standing at the bottom of the staircase, her hand on the railing.

Shadow walked toward her a few steps.

"Maria...?" He said, hand stretched out toward Maria as she started up the stairs.

"Don't. Just... leave me alone, Shadow." Maria said quietly, stopping mid-step.

Shadow cringed, and Maria walked upstairs again.

'I was afraid this would happen...' He thought.

Maria walked up the stairs and into her room.

She leaned against the closed door and slid to the floor. (A/N: I hate making it rhyme like that)

Maria pulled her knees to her chest, resting her forehead on them.

She sighed quietly.

A tear ran down her cheek.

"I knew it..." She whispered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well, that's... that's... :sniff: Oh, that just plain sad!!! :wails:

I'll update when I can... :sniff: And check out MBAC on 'WirePop'

:starts writing more on just about everything:


	21. Heartbreak and Decision

**Surprise!!! Updated again!**

Yes, those reporters are evil incarnate.

But, Shadow's rabid fan-girls are also to blame. THEY said most of it, after all.  
(good thing they're only like that in the stories, right? Right??)

Anyway, hope you like the new chapter!

Note: Arigato = Thank you

BTW: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy- uh- whatever else I didn't think of!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but M-chan and Kina.

**_Chapter 21: Heartbreak and Decision_**

Shadow was standing outside Maria's room door, listening to her cry.

"Maria... Please talk to me." He said, a hand resting on the door.

"Go away." Shadow heard Maria mumble.

"Maria don't shut me out. Those people... I don't care what they say! Those people don't know what they're talking about!" Shadow said loudly.

Maria was sitting on the floor at the foot of her bed, knees to her chest, forehead resting on her knees.

"Maria I love you and I know we're suppose to be together, no matter what they say..." Shadow said.

Maria looked toward the closed door, wiping some tears from her eyes.

She smiled slightly and nodded once.

"I'll be right next door if you want to talk..." Shadow said, and walked into his room.

M-chan saw this from around the corner.

She walked back downstairs, a worried look on her face.

'Now what do we do...' M-chan thought.

"How is she?" Amy asked, standing at the bottom of the staircase.

M-chan shook her head, slowly.

"I don't know... She won't even talk to Shadow-kun." She said.

"Damn reporters. This is all there fault..." Silver said, turning away slightly and clinching a fist.

"It's too late to blame them now. The damage is already done." Sonic said, turning to Silver.

M-chan watched Silver with a sad expression.

While he did feel terrible for Maria, M-chan knew the seemingly rejected idea of an Anthromorphic/Human couple struck a nerve in Silver that he likely didn't think he had.

"I'm not surprised this is how Maria reacted. Back on Ark, she was always afraid this would happen." Rouge said.

"Poor thing..." Amy said, quietly as she looked at the floor sadly.

"Maria will come around I think. Just give her time." Sonic said.

"Yeah, or Shadow will get through to her, so try not to worry about it." M-chan said.

Out the corner of her eye, M-chan noticed Silver glance at her.

Silver started walking away from the group.

Knuckles ran in the front door and slammed it shut, panting slightly.

"Sonic! What did you do?!" He yelled, turning back to the group.

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked, confused.

"There's reporters _EVERYWHERE_ out there!" Knuckles yelled.

"What?!" The group said, and rushed to the front windows.

M-chan, Amy and Rouge looked out on window, and the guys look out the other, Silver hovering to over the others to get a better view.

The girls were first to react.

"Oh-"

"My-"

"God!!"

There were TV station trucks parked all down the street and near countless reporters and cameras.

Silver looked at M-chan.

"You _WERE_ followed!" He said, loudly.

M-chan shook her head vigorously.

"No, I wasn't! There's no way! I don't know how they found us, but it wasn't something I did!" She said, looking over at Silver.

"Then how did- **KNUCKLES**!!" Rouge yelled, glaring at echidna.

"What'd I do?!" Knuckles yelled.

"_YOU_ were the one they followed! They followed you here!!" Amy yelled.

Knuckles shook his head.

"They were already here when I got here! I barely got passed them without getting trampled!" He said loudly.

"Well, it wasn't exactly a secret that we stay at this house most of the time. It was only a matter of time before they would come here." Sonic said.

"Yeah that's true I guess." Amy said, quietly.

"Oh, sure. Sonic says it and it MUST be the reason they're here!" Rouge teased, with a grin.

Amy blushed slightly, but looked angry anyway.

"That's not true and you know it, Rouge!" Amy said, loudly.

Rouge shrugged with a small smile and started to walk away.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Blue Boy's got a point." M-chan said, with a smile.

"He's gotta be right once in his life." Knuckles said, following Rouge.

"**_WHAT?!_** _**What**_ _**DO YOU MEAN ONCE**_?!!" Sonic yelled.

Knuckles and Rouge burst out laughing, leaning on each other as they walked.

"What do ya' say Amy? Shall we double team em' later?" Sonic whispered in Amy's ear.

"Oh, yeah. They're SOOO goin' down!" Amy said, quietly.

M-chan and Silver looked at each other and shook there heads slowly.

"So childish..." They both said.

"Hey, M-chan? You still got those water balloons from last summer?" Sonic asked.

"Oh, yeah. You gonna em' on those two?" M-chan asked with a grin.

"Yep. They won't expect that." Amy said, with a smile.

"We'll barrage em' from the second floor later. The last thing they'll expect is an indoor attack of this level!" M-chan said, with a wide, sly grin.

"M-chan! Not you too!" Silver scolded.

A large sweat-drop appeared on M-chan's head.

"Well..." She said, an apologetic look on her face.

Silver sighed, quietly.

"Try not to get water on the furniture. That would take longer to clear then the floor." He said, turning away.

"Arigato, Silver-kun!" M-chan said, and hugged Silver from behind causing him to blush.

M-chan, Amy and Sonic ran off, talking about their plans.

Silver sighed, quietly.

'And _SHE'S_ **_older_** then _ME_!' He thought.

**_MEANWHIEL: Maria walked over to the door that connected her room with Shadow's._**

She hesitated, then knocked on the door.

"Shadow..." Maria said, quietly.

"Maria?" Shadow asked though the door, sounding a little surprised.

"Yeah, can we talk?" Maria asked.

"Of course!" Shadow said, opening the door quickly.

Maria's eyes were still a little puffy from crying and her nose was slightly red.

"Are you okay?" Shadow asked, a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah, I'm... no, I'm not. I must look awful." Maria said, rubbing her eyes.

"No, you don't..." Shadow said, quietly.

He shut the door behind him as Maria walked over to her bed and sat down.

"I shouldn't be acting like this. Who cares what they think, anyway. Most of them are your fans and wouldn't be happy no matter who you date." Maria said, with a forced smile.

"That's true..." Shadow said, walking over to Maria.

He jumped onto Maria's bed, standing on the bed.

"Maria..." Shadow said, holding Maria's face in his hands.

Maria blushed slightly, looking into Shadow's eyes.

"I don't care what anyone says. We are meant to be together. And anyone who thinks it's wrong will have to face my wrath!" Shadow said.

Maria giggled quietly.

"Be afraid, Shadow fan-girls." She said, quietly.

Shadow smiled slightly.

"Come on, I bet the others are worried about you." He said, jumping down from the bed.

Maria didn't move.

"I don't want to... It's already late, so can we just stay in here?" She asked.

Shadow nodded once, looking a little worried.

Maria's stomach growled quietly and she blushed slightly.

Shadow had a hard time not laughing at Maria's expression.

"I'll go make you a sandwich. Be right back." He said, and walked out of the room.

Maria decided to change into her pajamas and walked into her bathroom.

When Shadow got to the kitchen, M-chan and Amy practically pounced on him.

"Is Maria okay?!" The girls asked loudly.

Shadow sighed quietly.

"She's okay. But, she's going to stay in her. She's tired and is turning in early." He said, going over to the refrigerator.

"Yeah, that's understandable." Amy said, sadly.

"Need any help with sandwich making?" M-chan asked.

"Not really. Just point me in the direction of the Doritos." Shadow said, putting the mayonnaise back in the fridge

M-chan smiled and got two snack bags from the cabinet.

"Thanks." Shadow said, taking the bags from M-chan.

"Tell Maria good-night for us." Amy said.

"I will. Good-night, girls." Shadow said, starting to walk back to Maria's room.

"Good-night, Shadow." M-chan and Amy said.

When Shadow got back to Maria's room, she was getting back in bed after changing into light blue pajamas.

"That was fast." Maria commented.

Shadow nodded once.

"I didn't want to leave you alone for long." He said, shutting the door behind him and walking over to the bed.

Maria smiled slightly.

"You worry too much." she said, pulling the covers back and sitting on the bed.

Shadow sat on the bed and handed Maria the sandwich.

"Thanks." She said, and took a bite of the sandwich.

Shadow watched Maria eat for a moment, then looked down.

"Do you regret it?" He asked quietly.

Maria looked confused as she turned to him.

"Regret what?" She asked.

"Us." Shadow said, simply.

Maria gasped quietly, and hugged Shadow tightly.

"Never... I love you. I could never regret being with you!" She said, tears coming to her eyes.

Shadow sighed, and gently rubbed Maria's back.

"Alright... Just wondering." He whispered.

'We both know that's not entirely true...' Shadow thought, sadly.

Maria pulled away slightly, and Shadow wiped her tears away with his thumb.

'It's not us you regret, it's that we aren't a 'normal' couple.' He thought, sadly.

Maria wiped her eyes and quickly finished her sandwich.

The two shared one of the chip bags in silence.

Shadow settled under the covers and Maria laid her head on his shoulder/chest.

"Are we okay?" Maria asked, a little worried.

"Of course. Good-night, Maria." Shadow said, stifling a yawn.

"Good-night, Shadow." Maria said quietly, already half asleep.

Shadow watched Maria sleep for a while, stroking her hair.

He sighed quietly.

'I hate those people... I don't care what they think, but I won't stand by and let them upset Maria.'

**' **"Humans and anthros shouldn't be together!" **'** Shadow remembered one girl saying.

He sighed quietly.

'If the problem is being a human/hedgehog couple, then...' Shadow thought.

"I'll become human." Shadow whispered, and kissed Maria on the forehead.

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_**HUH?!!**_ What's Shadow mean by that?!! :grins knowingly:

Well, you'll have to keep reading to find out!

Until then, Ja-ne'! (See ya'!)


	22. Anything For Her part 1

Okay, I'm back. It's been a while, hasn't it? It's been _REALLY_ hectic here...

Well... On with the chapter!!!

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_**Chapter 22: Anything For Her part 1**_

**The Next Morning:**

M-chan was looking out the window in her room, watching the near countless reporters and TV station vans talk amongst themselves.

"You'd think they'd leave if all they can do is talk to each other..." She said quietly to herself.

M-chan heard a knock on her room door, and turned toward it.

"Come on in." She said.

Shadow opened the door, with a determined and nervous look on his face.

"We need to talk." He said, shutting the door behind him.

"Is Maria alright?" M-chan asked, worried.

Shadow shook his head slowly.

"No, not really. I know what those people said bothered her... I want to make sure they never say anything like that again." Shadow said, quietly and looking at the floor.

M-chan smiled sympathetically.

"You can't guarantee that. You know how people talk." She said.

"I know that, but there is a way..." Shadow said, looking at M-chan.

"Like what?" M-chan asked, confused.

"I become human." Shadow said, simply.

M-chan's jaw dropped and she fell off the ledge by the window she'd been sitting on.

"_**WHAT**_!?" She yelled.

"Keep it down!" Shadow said, quietly.

M-chan covered her mouth, still shocked.

"You can't be serious! That's not possi-"

"It has to be! You're a dimension traveler like Blaze and that's not possible!" Shadow said, loudly.

"Now who's being loud?" M-chan teased, with a grin.

Shadow glared at her.

"Alright, alright..." M-chan said quietly, looking away.

She closed her eyes.

"You must know the rumors or you wouldn't have told me first." M-chan said.

"You know things the others don't. You've proven you have abilities the others don't have. If there _IS_ a way for me to become human, you should know about it." Shadow said.

M-chan sighed, standing and walking over to her closet.

"I do know... but I'm not sure it's a good idea to use it." She said, opening the closet doors.

M-chan moved picked up her bag and got a scroll from the bottom of the bag.

"There is a way..." She said, opening and reading the scroll.

"Gather the red, blue and yellow chaos emeralds and meet me at the Mystic Ruins. We'll go from there." M-chan said, re-tying the scroll and packing it into a backpack.

"Why just those three?" Shadow asked, looking a little confused.

"Just do it, I'll explain later. Go, go, get!" M-chan said, shooing Shadow out of the room.

"Alright, I'm going." Shadow said, as M-chan shut the door behind him.

He walked downstairs, wondering how to proceed.

'Tails should know...' Shadow thought then ran to Tails' work-room.

When Shadow got to Tails' work-room in the basement, Tails was tinkering with some small machine.

"Done... I hope." He said, quietly.

"Tails." Shadow said, quietly.

Said fox jumped slightly, and turned to face Shadow.

"Oh, hi Shadow. What's up?" Tails said, calming down.

"Is there away to track the chaos emeralds? I need 3 specific ones." Shadow said, hoping to keep the explanation to a minimum.

"Just 3? Okay, well I did just finish this." Tails said, turning to pick up what he was working on.

"I'm not sure if it works yet, or how reliable it is, but it's suppose to sense Chaos emeralds." Tails said, handing Shadow a wrist watch like machine.

He grinned as Shadow inspected it.

"And, fortunately, I need someone to test it out. I was going to wait until the reporters left, but you can get by them easy, right?" Tails said.

"Yeah, that's easy." Shadow said.

"You turn it on here, and adjust the frequency here." Tails said, pointing to the button and dial on the watch.

"So, why just three?" Tails asked.

Shadow inwardly cringed.

"I- can't say. I don't want Maria to know about this yet." He said, adjusting the 'watch'.

Tails looked a little nervous now.

"It's nothing bad, no harm will come to anyone if that's what you're thinking. If this works... it'll change things for the better." Shadow said.

Tails nodded once.

"Which ones do you need anyway?" He asked.

"Red, blue and yellow." Shadow mumbled, but Tails still understood.

"Red, blue and-... I have yellow already here." Tails said, going over to his workbench and opening the drawer.

"I was using it to test the machine's sensors." The brainy fox said, handing Shadow the chaos emerald.

"One down." Shadow said, taking the emerald.

Tails smiled.

"Good luck with finding the other two. Press the button on the other side of the tuner to radio me if you need any help." He said.

"Thank you. I'll be going now." Shadow said, turning away.

He ran up the stairs and out the front door, before the reporters knew what hit them.

'I'm sorry Maria, I should say I'm good-bye to you before I go. After all, I doubt you'll ever see me like this again.' Shadow thought.

Maria, fortunately for Shadow, was sound asleep and still oblivious to his plan for the moment.

Shadow turned on the Chaos Emerald seeking 'watch', and it beeped slowly.

"Looks like... outside of town. It's a start." Shadow said to himself.

**_MEANWHILE: M-chan was packing a backpack._**

Silver walked into the room.

"Going somewhere?" He asked.

"Yeah, Shadow asked me to help him with something. It's really important." M-chan said, not looking at Silver.

Silver eyed her suspiciously.

"You know you'll have a lot of trouble getting past those reporters."

M-chan turned and grinned at the white hedgehog.

"That's why I need you to distract them." She said.

"Why don't I just fly you to where ever you want to go? It'll be faster and easier to get away." Silver said,  
arms crossed.

M-chan sighed, putting the backpack over her shoulders.

"You can't come with me. I can't explain right now, but you'll understand why soon enough." She said, quietly

"What's that suppose to mean?" Silver asked, more worried now and uncrossing his arms.

"Just what I said. Now, are you going to help or not?" M-chan said.

"No, I don't like the sound of this and I won't help put you in danger." Silver said, turning his back to M-chan and crossing his arms again.

M-chan pouted and walked over to Silver.

"Pweease Silver-kun?" She pleaded cutely.

"Oh-no, that won't work this time." Silver said.

M-chan pouted more.

"Meanie... Ya' know, you never did tell me who Kina was... I bet Blaze'll tell me, though." She said, slyly.

"**NO**! Okay, I'll do it!" Silver said, facing M-chan and flailing his arms around.

"Arigato, Silver-kun." M-chan said with a grin.

_**LATER THAT DAY: Shadow found the red emerald and was currently digging for the blue.**_

Then he found out...

"**ARHG**! It's the green one!" Shadow said loudly and threw the emerald back in the hole.

He got up and turned to leave, then had second thoughts about leaving the emerald behind.

Shadow picked up the emerald and took it with him.

'I can't take the change that something could go wrong. At least, it'll be kept safe from whoever would use it for the wrong reasons.' He thought running off.

**_MEANWHILE: M-chan arrived at the Mystic ruins._**

Adjusting her backpack on the shoulder, she walked over toward one of the caves.

Purposely leaning against a portion of the wall, it shifted and a door in the wall opened.

M-chan walked in and the door closed behind her.

Inside, torches on the side of the walls lit up.

M-chan walked further into the cave, as the torches illuminated the center of the cave.

A stone looking machine in the center of the 'room', and M-chan smiled slightly.

"Good thing it's still intact. I was worried it had been destroyed and the plan would've been ruined"  
She said, walking over to it.

The machine had two compartments that looked like someone would stand in.

M-chan smiled again, dusting off the control panel.

"Well, I guess Shadow won't be the only one who changes today..." She said, quietly.

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Hmmm.... Cliff-hanger again!! Sorry, guys!!!

I'll Update again ASAP!!!

Kina will _EVENTUALLY_ be explained. (next chapter or 2 I think)

One more thing: An anonymous reviewer brought up some questions about M-chan, so I'm wondering...

Should I post a profile of her on my page or have a special chapter to explain her a bit?

She's been a bit vague to not spoil part of the story so far, but that's getting to be a moot point considering what's coming up.

_Anything for Her part 2 preview:_

"Are you sure you want to do this?" M-chan asked, her hand on the control panel.

"Would you stop asking me that? Of course I'm sure!" Shadow snapped.

"Alright, alright... geez." M-chan said.

"Don't blame me if Maria's mad at you for this." She added and pulled the switch.


	23. Anything For Her part 2

I'm back!!!!

Enjoy!!

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_**Chapter 23: Anything For Her part 2**_

Hours passed as Shadow searched for the chaos emeralds.

It was about 6pm when Shadow found the blue emerald.

M-chan was waiting at the caves entrance, looking bored.

She waved to Shadow when she saw him, to get his attention.

Shadow ran over to her, holding the three emeralds in his hands.

"Good, follow me." M-chan said, and turned away.

Several feet into the cave, M-chan opened the cave's secret door.

"What are you anyway? You're not a normal human, and you're too young to be a mage." Shadow said

"A mage?! What ever gave you that idea?" M-chan said with a laugh.

"I said you were too young. What are you?" Shadow asked again.

"I'm a dimension traveler and a Chao keeper. I have close to 20 Chao with the eggs that are about to hatch.  
Their magic rubbed off on I guess." M-chan said, with a smile.

"That's not the whole story and you know I'm not falling for that." Shadow said, eyes narrowed.

"All in due time Emo-Shads, all in due time." M-chan said.

Shadow cringed slightly.

"More nick-names..." He groaned.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." M-chan said.

The two walked in silence the rest of the way.

If Shadow was surprised by the old machine, he didn't show it.

"Now what?" The black and red hedgehog asked, impatiently.

M-chan ignored Shadow's attitude and walked over to the control panel.

"Put the Emeralds in those slots by the parts it looks like you stand in please. Blue, red, and yellow from the  
top, very important." M-chan said, pushing some buttons on the control panel.

Shadow walked over to the machine, Chaos Emerald in hand.

_**MEANWHILE:**_ _Eggman was re-reading his grandfather's diary._

April 29:

"That does it! I can't let this go on anymore! I have to figure out a way to separate them. Dropping hints to  
Shadow isn't helping. However, if Maria falls for someone else, I bet he'll back off."

May 21:

"Maria disappeared today for 4 hours. When I found her, she'd been crying... and I know Shadow had been with her.  
If he did something to her I'll...!!"

June 1:

"I've just received word from Earth. They have some concerns about Shadow... It looks like Shadow's feelings for  
Maria and visa-versa are the last thing I should be worried about right now..."

**END ENTRY**

Eggman leaned back in his chair, twisting his mustache in thought.

'Grandfather obviously didn't want Shadow and Maria together. True the age difference was substantial,  
5 years... But I have a hard time believing the fact that Shadow was a hedgehog wasn't something that  
bothered Grandfather.' Eggman thought.

Reading the last entry again, Eggman wondered to himself:

'What concerns did they have about Shadow in the first place? There's nothing anywhere that I can find  
that indicates Shadow is a threat, unless they just didn't trust him to have so much power.  
If Grandfather had told them about Shadow and Maria's relationship, whatever it really was, maybe it would've...  
Wait... perhaps...' The scientist thought.

"If it was Shadow's powers they were worried about, they would've stopped the process sooner. Is it possible...?"  
Eggman wondered aloud.

He typed a few keys and read on the screen.

"Could they have known... Even if they knew there was something between Shadow and Maria, the question is still  
whether or not it would've been an issue. This will take some looking into..." Eggman said to himself,  
starting to type on the keyboard again.

_**MEANWHILE:**_

"Are you sure you want to do this?" M-chan asked, her hand on the control panel.

"Would you stop asking me that? Of course I'm sure!" Shadow snapped.

He was standing in one of the compartments.

"Alright, alright... geez." M-chan said.

"Don't blame me if Maria's mad at you for this." She added and pulled the switch.

The door on Shadow's compartment slid closed slowly.

M-chan watched the door close, and pushed a few more buttons before walking over to the open spot.

'I only hope Silver won't be mad either...' She thought, as the door slid closed as she stepped inside.

The whole process to about an hour to complete, and while not particularly painful, Shadow ended up screaming  
out a few times.

_**MEANWHILE:** Maria was waiting with the rest of the group for Shadow and M-chan to return._

Silver was restlessly pacing the length of the floor.

Maria knew why though, she had the same sense that something wasn't right.

Sonic and Knuckles had to pin Silver down several times already, and they watched him carefully.

Rouge and Amy kept an eye on Maria as well.

Silver expressed his concerns hours ago, and Tails reluctantly informed the group that Shadow had wanted to  
know how to find the Chaos Emeralds.

The group was left to wonder, worry and wait for the return of Shadow and M-chan.

Maria was convinced Shadow was in a battle, or in pain.

She was sure she heard Shadow cry out, but no one knew if it was real sixth sense, or just something conjured by  
an overactive imagination.

'Shadow... I hope everything's alright.' Maria thought.

_**MEANWHILE:**_

Shadow stepped out of the machine, and fell to his knees.

Slightly spiky black hair with red streaks and crimson eyes were the only things that proved he was once  
Shadow the Hedgehog.

"There's clothes in the bag next to the control panel. They better fit, I spent an over an hour calculating  
the size!" M-chan said.

Shadow looked around but didn't see M-chan anywhere.

He opened the bag and took out the clothes.

Black jacket, white T-shirt, black jeans, and sneakers that look nearly identical to Shadow's 'hover shoes'.

After quickly getting dressed, Shadow started wondering where M-chan had gotten too.

"Hey, M-chan! Are you hiding or something?" He asked loudly.

"Sort of... My clothes calculations were off..." M-chan said, nervously.

A yellow hedgehog with pink and blue highlights in her hair stepped out from behind the machine.

"Who are...? What happened to you?" Shadow asked, surprised.

"Well..." The hedgehog began.

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_

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There! the next chapter, done!!! Sorry to end on a cliffhanger, but it can't really be helped.

Oh, and check out my new poll!

**'Anything For Her' Part 3 PREVIEW:**

"Shadow you idiot!" Maria said, hitting Shadow's chest several times.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, Shadow!" Maria said, crying.

Shadow just held Maria closer, rubbing her back gently.

"If something had gone wrong, you could've died! You know I don't care that were different, and you still go  
and do something reckless!" Maria said loudly.

"Maria..."


	24. Anything For Her part 3

Hello again, loyal fans! I hope everyone is enjoying the story and sorry it's a little late for April...

Heheh... I know exactly how the story is going to end, but not exactly how many chapters it will take.

Minimum of 5 chapters left, maybe 10 or 15 max. Yeah...

On with the story!!

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_**Previously on "A ShadMaria Story":**_

_"Hey, M-chan! Are you hiding or something?" He asked loudly._

_"Sort of... My clothes calculations were off..." M-chan said, nervously._

_A yellow hedgehog with pink and blue highlights in her hair stepped out from behind the machine._

_"Who are...? What happened to you?" Shadow asked, surprised._

_"Well..." The hedgehog began._

_**Chapter 24: Anything For Her part 3**_

A yellow color hedgehog girl stood by the second compartment of the machine that made Shadow human.

"M-chan?" Shadow asked, eyes widening slowly.

"Yep, that's me. Surprised huh?" The girl said with a smile.

The hedgehog girl was in a pair of over-sized jeans, and short-sleeved shirt nearly two sizes too big.

"What happened? Why are you a hedgehog?" Shadow asked.

"Come on, you don't know?" M-chan asked, crossing her arms, only to have to catch her pants before they fell.

"Would I ask if I knew?" Shadow said, crossing his arms.

M-chan pouted.

"Fine. Someone can't just change species, even with the chaos emeralds. The human chromosomes have to come from  
somewhere. I.E. For you to be human, someone had to be a hedgehog." M-chan said, one hand on her hip.

Shadow looked a little surprised.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, a little mad.

"Because it wouldn't have changed your mind, for one. And second, it's only temporary. You have about a week to  
decide if you want to make this permanent. Then we'll go from there." M-chan said, turning her back to Shadow.

"What do you me-"

"Come on, let's go back. The others are waiting, and probably worried." M-chan said, walking away.

Shadow watched M-chan nearly trip over her pants leg as she walked away.

"Come on! Maria's waiting!" M-chan called over her shoulder.

The mention of Maria snapped Shadow to attention and he followed M-chan.

After M-chan nearly tripping a few times, Shadow picked her up.

"It would be easier if I ran us home." Shadow said.

"You can't." M-chan said, simply.

Shadow scowled at the yellow hedgehog.

"You aren't a hedgehog anymore, remember? Your powers are mostly gone. You could probably win any race against  
a human, but it's still faster to take the train." M-chan said.

Shadow was about to protest, but realized M-chan was right.

His legs were heavier then they usually were, and he started to doubt if he could run at all.

"Betcha' didn't think you'd lose your powers too." M-chan said, with a grin.

Shadow scowled again.

"Oh, poor Emo-Shads..." M-chan said, patting his head.

Shadow rolled his eyes, and started walking toward the train station.

_**MEANWHILE:** Maria and the others were in the living room._

Silver paced the floor nervously.

"I shouldn't have let her go... I should've NEVER helped her get passed those reporters.  
Who knows what's happened to them now." He said, still pacing the floor.

Maria looked even more worried now.

"Silver! That's not helping anyone!" Amy said loudly, standing from her chair.

Silver cringed slightly.

"I know, but... I hate not knowing where they are. M-chan can be a bit... reckless at times, especially when  
she thinks she knows the best way to do something." He said, looking at the floor.

Maria looked down at the floor.

'Shadow has a reckless streak of his own. Where are they?' She thought.

"I just wonder what they're up to..." Sonic said, mostly to himself as he looked out the window.

Silence descended upon the group.

Silver walked over to the window and sighed quietly.

Then, Amy's cell phone rang.

She picked up her phone and flipped it open without looking at it.

"Hello?" Amy said, in a bored tone.

"Moshi-Moshi, Amy-chan!" The voice on the other line said, happily.

"_M-CHAN?!!"_ Amy said, quickly standing from her chair.

"Hai! Hey, do you th-"

"**_WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!!"_** Silver yelled, grabbing the phone from Amy.

"Hi, Silver." M-chan said cheerfully.

"Don't just say 'Hi' after all of us have been so worried about you! Where are you?!" Silver said, loudly.

Amy grabbed the phone back and put it on speaker.

"We're just down the street. The reporters are still there, so we'll need some help getting passed them."  
M-chan said.

"_'We'_ So Shadow is with you..." Maria said, a little relieved.

This was confirmation on the two being together.

"Yep, he's fine, I'm fine, we're both fine." M-chan said, happily.

"I have a hard time believing you're not hiding something." Silver said, eyes narrowing.

M-chan laughed nervously.

"You'll see, you'll see. Someone go out front and cause a commotion and Shadow and I will sneak around  
the back way. Bye-bye!" M-chan said, and hung up.

"Fine..." Silver practically growled.

Amy and Rouge had sweatdrops on their heads, watching Silver storm off to the front door.

"I'm comin' too. The reporters are gonna need a scandal to distract 'em." Sonic said, with a grin.

"What's that mean?" Amy asked, a little worried.

Sonic grinned, opening the front door.

"You'll see..." He said.

Silver and Sonic quickly ran outside.

"This can't be good." Amy said, quietly.

Silver and Sonic took fighting stances as Amy and the others looked out the window.

"You! You'll never take Amy away from me!" Sonic said, dramatically.

"What?" Silver asked, quietly.

"Amy loves me, and no matter what you do, that will never change!" Sonic said, dramatically and pointing  
at Silver.

The blue hedgehog charged at Silver, mock punching him.

"What are you doing?!" Silver asked, angrily as they passed each other.

"Just play along." Sonic said.

**MEANWHILE:** _M-chan was almost doubled over laughing._

"Seriously? That's the best they could come up with?!" She said, laughing.

"It's enough of a distraction to get us inside. Now, if you'd stop laughing and be quiet, this would be easy."  
Shadow said.

M-chan's laughing slowly stopped, and the two snuck around the back way to the house.

"Did you warn them at all?" Shadow asked, suddenly.

M-chan looked up at the dark haired teen, a little sad.

"No, I wasn't sure I should. I don't like shocking them, but... just telling them doesn't seem like a good  
idea." The yellow hedgehog girl said.

M-chan got out her cell phone, and dialed Amy's number.

"Hey, we're here. Tell Blue Boy he can stop making an idiot of himself." She said, with a laugh.

"I know! Can you believe how well he can act?" Amy said, sarcasm in her voice.

A sweatdrop appeared on M-chan's head.

"You _ARE_ kidding right?" She asked.

"Of course! Oh, how am I gonna get him outta this one?" Amy said, worried.

"Just go out there and tell the reporters it was a skit from a movie or something." M-chan said, with a smile.

"Perfect!" Amy said, and hung up.

Amy walked outside, breaking up the mock fight between Silver and Sonic.

"Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope you've enjoyed todays scene from the movie 'Hedgehogs of our Lives'.  
Now, if you'll excuse us..." Amy said, with a curtsy as Sonic and Silver bowed.

The three walked inside, as the crowd of reporters yelled questions and burst out laughing when the door  
closed behind them.

"That was really somethin' Amy! Where'd you come up with that idea?" Sonic said, still laughing.

"You can thank M-chan for that idea." Amy said, laughter subsiding slightly.

The back door closed loudly, and Maria and Silver were the first ones to head to the back of the house.

Silver stopped suddenly, surprised.

Maria stopped just behind him, with the rest of the group behind her.

A human and hedgehog stood in front of them, but not as expected.

Silver closed his eyes, and clinched his fists.

"You didn't..." He said, quietly.

Maria walked closer to the two, only slightly surprised.

She stood in front of the now human Shadow, and M-chan stepped to the side.

Maria's hand covered her mouth slightly, tears coming to her eyes.

"Sha...dow?" She said, quietly.

Before Shadow could respond, Maria lost her balance and fell forward.

"Maria!?" Shadow said loudly, catching said girl.

_TO BE CONTINUED..._

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Sorry to leave it on such a cliffhanger, plus the fact that the preview I posted last time doesn't match  
the chapter... but it was either that or a 2 thousand plus word chapter.

Well, that and no real idea what to do in the next chapter... ^^; Ah, well...

OH! I'm posting a link on my profile to the pic of Hedgie M-chan as soon as it's done!!! ...I'm having a _little _trouble deciding on her outfit...

Next chapter up mid to late May!


	25. Anything For Her part 4

I'm BACK!!!! Sorry to keep you guys waiting!! I've had several things going on at once and it's a bit overwhelming... You try putting AMVs together, writing fanfiction, keeping an OEL Manga series updated on time, (which include sending pages back and forth to my artist team) while stressing out over how the cover of its first book should look (not to mention the bonus pages... Self published too!), trying to find a replacement to my _Sony Ericsson Z310a_ (to hopefully retrieve my pics and ringtones from my broken one...long story.),  
and dealing with the _**EVILS**_ of Wal-Mart not carrying my **HOTPOCKETS**!! (lol, okay that last one not _THAT_ bad...)

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**Chapter 25:_ Anything For Her part 4_**

The rest of the shocked group watched as Shadow held the passed out Maria.

Silver glared at the now hedgehog M-chan.

"You didn't..." He said, quietly.

A sweatdrop appeared on M-chan's head as Silver stormed off.

"Okay, safe to say he's mad..." She mumbled to herself.

M-chan then noticed the rest of the group just standing there, staring.

"Uh, maybe I should've warned you guys after all..." She said.

Sonic took a few steps toward the transformed pair, inspecting M-chan.

"M-chan?" The blue hedgehog asked, wanting to confirm that it was her.

"Konichiwa, Son-san!" M-chan said, with a grin.

A sweatdrop formed on Amy's head.

"Yep, that's M-chan alright. She's the only one who'd use that nickname." Amy said, mostly to herself.

Sonic studied M-chan for a bit longer, making her a little nervous.

"Uh, something wrong?" M-chan asked.

"M-chan..." Sonic said, quietly.

M-chan's sweatdrop returned.

"You look hot!" He grinned widely, giving her a thumbs up.

The rest of the group fell over, with the exception of Shadow and M-chan.

"_WHAT_?!" M-chan and Amy both yelled.

The two girls hit Sonic on the head, Amy with her hammer and M-chan with her fist.

"You perv!!" The yellow and pink hedgehogs said, loudly.

Sonic crawled away a few feet.

"Ow..." He said, rubbing his head.

Rouge walked over to M-chan, still a little stunned.

"How did this happen?" She asked.

"Long story, I'll explain it all later. Right now we need to get Maria up to her room." M-chan said.

"And get you a change of clothes. Those are too big for you." Amy added in.

"No kidding." Rouge said.

M-chan shrugged and turned back to Shadow.

"You take Maria up to her room, and stay with her. If she's not up in 15 minutes, come get us." M-chan said.

Shadow nodded, standing up with Maria in his arms.

Then, the girls noticed Sonic nearly passed out in the corner.

"What do we do about him?" Rouge asked.

"Leave the perv where he is." Amy and M-chan said angrily.

Knuckles quickly moved out of the way of the two angry hedgehog girls.

Rouge shrugged as she passed him.

"Just make sure he's not dead." She said quietly, pointing towards Sonic.

Knuckles nodded.

The three girls headed to Amy's room.

**_MEANWHILE:_**

Shadow and Maria were in Maria's room.

Maria was still passed out form the shock of seeing Shadow in human form.

Or, at least, Shadow hoped it was just shock.

Shadow brushed a strand of hair from Maria's face.

'Maria... Did I do something wrong?' The former hedgehog thought.

Maria stirred slightly, seeming to be waking up.

The blonde groaned quietly, raised a hand to her face and rubbed her eyes.

"I had the weirdest dream. M-chan was a hedgehog and you were human." Maria said.

Shadow sighed quietly.

"That _WAS_ just a dream, right?" Maria asked, in a more demanding tone.

Shadow stayed silent.

"Tell me that was a dream..." Maria said, sadly.

Maria sat up quickly and glared at Shadow.

Shadow leaned back slightly, nervous because of Maria's expression.

Maria sat on the side of the bed, glaring at Shadow.

"How?" She asked, shock finding its way onto her face again.

Shadow sighed again.

"A chromosome replacement. It wasn't the method I intended to use, but that's what happened and it worked." Shadow said.

Maria shook her head slowly, eyes closed and looking down slightly.

"Why... Why would you do this?" She asked, in disbelief.

"After what those people, my so-called "Fan-Girls", said... I had to do something. If I became human, everything would be fine and no one would ever say anything about us again." Shadow said.

Maria couldn't believe what she was hearing, but stayed quiet.

"I knew M-chan had some abilities that none of us had. If there was any way to make me human, she'd know what to do." Shadow said.

Maria came closer to Shadow, inspecting his face.

As much as Shadow changed, somehow he still looked the same, partly because of Shadow's crimson eyes.

Tears filled Maria's eyes as she rested her head on Shadow's shoulder.

Shadow put his arms around Maria, pulling her closer.

"Shadow you idiot!" Maria said, hitting Shadow's chest several times.

Said former hedgehog remained mostly unfazed.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, Shadow!" Maria said, crying.

Shadow just held Maria closer, rubbing her back gently.

"If something had gone wrong, you could've died! You know I don't care that were different, and you still go and do something reckless!" Maria said loudly.

"Maria..."

No! Don't 'Maria...' me! I..." Maria said, pulling back quickly.

"I could've lost you." She added, tears running down her cheeks.

Shadow wiped some of Maria's tears away with his thumb.

"But you didn't. I'm still here, and now no one will care that we're together. We can be a normal couple now."

Maria scoffed.

"'Normal couple' huh? We were as normal as any other couple we know before you changed. And, did you ever think  
people would notice 'Shadow the Hedgehog' has disappeared? They are going to wonder where you've gone."

Shadow hesitated, then closed his eyes.

"I didn't think about that." He said, quietly.

"That's my point." Maria said.

Shadow looked down sadly, and Maria sighed.

"We'll figure something out. We always have right? Besides, it's not like anyone could ever figure out you  
became human."

Shadow nodded.

"I might as well tell you, M-chan said this is temporary for now." He said.

"That's good. You might decide you don't like being human." Maria said, with a smile.

Shadow held Maria closer.

"I doubt it." He said, quietly.

Maria's smile faded slightly.

"How do you think Silver is taking M-chan being a hedgehog?" She asked.

Shadow grimaced.

"He reacted worse then you and stormed off somewhere. He was very, very upset."

"Poor M-chan. I hope everything's alright..." Maria said, a little worried.

**_TO BE CONTINUED..._**

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Phew... Done!! :) Yes, I suck at updating. I'm working on that.

Again, sorry it took so long, but I've already got some stuff written for the next chapter so it should be done by the end of June, I hope...

I'm still having some issues with M-chan's clothes so no pic just yet... Maybe next time... ^^;


	26. Anything For Her part 5

**Updated on time!!!** ...sort of... Yay me!!!

Before we get into the chapter, there's several things I need to announce.

As some of you might remember me saying in my previous Author's Notes, I have a OEL Manga series on Wirepop/com.  
I wrapped up its first chapter a couple weeks ago, and I'm trying to figure out how the "Fan-Art Gallery" works  
so I can post a Fan-Art pic I received! IT'S SOOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
I'll probably end up just posting a link to it and just post it on my new website. Which brings me to my first  
bit of news: I have my own website now!!  
Yes, it's hosted on Webs/com and I'm proud of it. It's still got a ways to go before I'm done adding pages, but  
there's games, a blog, links, "Shout Box" and other stuff. And, for anyone not a member of FFN or DA who wants  
to know the day I update a story, (or anything else) there's a "Mailing List" you can add your name to.  
Check it out, there's a link on my Profile.

And lastly, _**I FINALLY FINISHED DECIDING ON M-CHAN'S OUTFIT!!!!!**_ There's a link to her pic on my Profile!!!!

Enjoy!!

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**_Chapter 26: Anything For Her part 5_**

After raiding Amy's closet, M-chan and the other girls were picking out an outfit.

"I sorta like this one, but this goes better with the jeans." M-chan said.

"What about this top, and this jacket with those jeans?" Rouge said, tossing the jacket and top to M-chan.

"Okay..." M-chan said, a little unsure as she went to change.

When M-chan re-emerged a couple of minutes later, she was wearing a short, white tank-top, lavender jacket, and  
blue jeans.

"What do you think?" She asked, rolling the jacket's sleeves up to the elbow.

"Perfect!! You look great!" Amy said.

"Defiantly!" Rouge said with a nod.

"You'll need shoes." Cream said, handing M-chan a pair of red sneakers with a white stripe down the center.

"Thanks, Cream." M-chan said, taking the shoes and starting to put them on.

Rouge, Amy and Cream grinned as M-chan looked herself over in the full length mirror.

"This does look good, doesn't it?" M-chan said, turning slightly.

"You look great, M-chan!" Cream said, with a grin.

"And your sure this tops not too... short?" M-chan asked, a little self conscious.

"Not a chance, it looks great. Sonic was right, you do look hot." Rouge said, then regretted the last sentence.

M-chan looked angry and a dark aura surrounded Amy.

Cream looked at the two, worriedly.

"Thanks, Rouge." M-chan said, with some restrained anger seeping through.

Cream looked back and forth between the angry hedgehog girls, franticly trying to think of a way to calm them.

"Uh... Um... Oh, any idea where Silver-san has gone off to? He looked really upset." Cream said, then covered  
her mouth, seeing M-chan looked a little sad.

"I should go find him. Silver'll be like this for days if something's not done now." M-chan said.

"What about Shadow and Maria? Should we go check on them?" Amy asked, her anger faded.

M-chan checked the clock and shook her head with a smile.

"No, if Maria was still unconscious Shadow would've gotten us by now. I'd bet she's up and those two are  
making ou- out map routes to get to Ark." M-chan said, quickly changing what she was saying when she remembered  
Cream was in the room.

Not only would Amy be upset if M-chan had finished what she was going to say, Cream would probably not approve  
of shadow and Maria being alone in Maria's room.

"Are they still going? I thought they canceled that because of the paparazzi frenzy." Amy said.

"I think that's still the plan. Who knows now..." M-chan said, with a shrug.

M-chan's cell phone rang from its place on Amy's bed, and M-chan picked it up.

A grimace formed on M-chan's face, seeing the number.

"Hi, Bl-."

_**"WHAT DID YOU DO?!!"**_ Blaze yelled on the other end of the line, cutting M-chan off.

"What do you mean?" M-chan asked, innocently.

"Silver called me already so drop the innocent act!" Blaze yelled again.

M-chan's smile fell, and she sat on the bed while the other girls just shrugged at each other in confusion.

"How mad is he?" M-chan asked, cringing slightly.

"Furious. I've never seen- well, heard him this upset. ." Blaze said.

M-chan sighed quietly, pushing her bangs off her forehead only for them to fall back into place.

"You really became a hedgehog, huh?" Blaze asked.

"Yep, hang on a sec." M-chan said.

The blonde hedgehog turned her phone around, struck a pose with a wink and victory sign, and snapping a picture.

Blaze laughed quietly.

"Same old you apparently." The cat girl said with a giggle.

"Yep." M-chan said.

"Sounds like Silver disapproves anyway." Blaze said.

"Yeah..." M-chan said, sadly.

"He kept going on about how, quote: 'dangerous that stunt was.' He thinks you could've been killed." Blaze said.

M-chan sighed again.

"Silver doesn't know does he?" Blaze asked.

"No, I never really got the chance to tell him. And it's not like he even seemed to care to know more about  
my past. It's never come up..." M-chan said, receiving some slightly worried looks from Amy, Rouge and Cream.

"You have to tell him. Not to mention the rest of the group. They should've been told about this awhile ago."  
Blaze said.

"I know. I'll tell them, but I have to find Silver first. Major damage controls gonna have to come first with him. He's already proven not to take surprises well." M-chan said, ending with a light laugh.

Blaze laughed quietly.

"Oh, yeah. Good luck, M-chan. Remind him I can still tell you all about Kina if he doesn't cooperate." She added.

M-chan frowned.

"Am I _EVER_ going to find out who she is?" She whined.

"That depends on Silver. Either he'll tell you himself, or I will." Blaze said.

M-chan scoffed.

"So where was he when you talked to him?" She asked.

"The roof." Blaze said, simply.

"Okay. I'll let you know how things went. Bye-bye." M-chan said.

"Bye." Blaze said, and the two hung up.

M-chan stood up and adjusted her jacket.

"What was that all about?" Rouge asked.

"Silver's really mad and sulking on the roof. I'm going to go get him and hopefully he'll listen to me." M-chan said.

The hedgehog girl slowly walked to the door, dragging her feet.

"I'll be back... if I'm not, tell Sonic he's an idiot and I hate him." M-chan said, with a barely hidden grin.

The other girls giggled as M-chan headed up to the roof.

"What do you think she hasn't told us?" Amy asked, a little worried now.

"It's probably nothing." Rouge said, barely hiding that she was concerned too.

**MEANWHILE:**

Sonic was waking up from M-chan and Amy's knocking him out.

He sat up on the couch he was laying on and rubbed the back of his head.

The blue hedgehog winced slightly, finding the bump M-chan and Amy left on his head.

"'Bout time you woke up." Knuckles said, walking over to the couch.

"How long was I out?" Sonic groaned, leaning back on the couch.

"Close to an hour. You really did it this time." Knuckles said with a smirk.

"Yeah, apparently M-chan doesn't take compliments well." Sonic said, still rubbing the back of his head.

"I doubt it's that simple... Either way, those two are bad enough on their own. But, both M-chan AND Amy are  
deadly. I'd steer clear of both of them for a while, if I were you." Knuckles said, sitting on a near by chair.

"Yeah, I think-" Sonic stopped with a gasp and froze in fear.

Amy walked down the stairs and passed Sonic and Knuckles, headed to the kitchen.

Knuckles glanced over at Amy, then back to Sonic.

The evil echidna grinned.

"Hey Amy! Sonic's awake!" He said, a smirk on his face.

Amy seemed to ignore Knuckles as she got a couple of water bottles from the refrigerator.

Sonic looked worriedly in Amy's direction out the corner of his eye.

The pink hedgehog looked calm as she walked toward the two guys.

Amy walked right over to Sonic, glaring down at him as he leaned away from her.

She slammed one of the bottles of water on the table next to the couch, making Sonic jump and cringe.

"You've been forgiven for now, but you are on probation. Try to behave yourself." Amy said, darkly.

Sonic nervously watched Amy walk away and back upstairs as Knuckles grinned at his fear.

When Amy was out of sight, Sonic noticed Knuckles expression.

"Like you've never been afraid of what Rouge would do to you!" Sonic said, angrily.

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Yes, I'm ending it here. I hate to do it, but I kind of have to. It's also the last Chapter in the _"Anything for Her"_ saga.

I _**SHOULD**_ have the next chapter done by the end of July...

Be sure to check out my website, there's a link on my profile!!

See you later! :)


	27. Secrets of Mchan's Past

I'm back! I hope you like this chapter, it'll explain all about M-chan.

This chapter also picks up right after the end of the last one.

A note to "Clair Gibson", I can't contact you without an email address or you being signed in.

Enjoy!!

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_**Chapter 27: Secrets of M-chan's Past**_

When Amy was out of sight, Sonic noticed Knuckles' expression.

"Like you've never been afraid of what Rouge would do to you!" Sonic said, angrily.

"Never happen. Rouge isn't nearly as strong as me." Knuckles said smugly.

"Oh, really?" Rouge said, from behind Knuckles' chair.

The echidna froze.

Rouge walked around the chair to face Knuckles.

Knuckles gulped nervously as Rouge looked down at him.

"You think you're stronger then me, huh?" Rouge asked, leaning down to be eye level with Knuckles.

"Not exactly..." Knuckles said with a nervously smile.

"That's not what you told me." Sonic said with a smirk from his place on the couch.

"Shut up, Sonic!" Knuckles yelled, looking around Rouge to glare at the blue hedgehog.

"So, ya' think you're stronger then me... Care to prove it?" Rouge said, eyes narrowing.

Knuckles expression was a mix of worry and skeptical.

"How? We can't actually fight." He said.

"And why not?!" Rouge said loudly, backing away a bit and crossing her arms.

Knuckles cringed, realizing there was no way out of this one.

"I can't fight at full strength. I don't want to hurt you." He said, looking away from Rouge.

Rouge grabbed Knuckled and drug him out of his chair and towards the back yard.

"I wouldn't worry about that. _**YOU'RE**_ the one that's gonna get hurt!" Rouge said, loudly.

Sonic laughed after Rouge closed the back door.

**_MEANWHILE_:** _M-chan had walked up to the roof._

She stood still for a while, judging Silver's mood before approaching him.

Silver sighed, and still managed to sound very angry.

M-chan cringed slightly, but walked toward him anyway.

"Hi!" She said cheerily, leaning down as she stood beside Silver.

Silver ignored her, just looking strait ahead.

M-chan's smile quickly faded and she sat down.

"It really was for the best, ya' know. I had to help them and making Shadow human was the best way to shut up those fan-girls." She said.

Silver remained silent, still not looking at M-chan.

M-chan laughed quietly.

"And while we're nowhere near as well known as ShadMaria, I bet if the reporters saw us together they'd start coming up the theories that Human/Anthro relationships are a new trend or something." She said, with a smile.

"That doesn't matter! What you did was reckless!" Silver said loudly, facing M-chan.

M-chan blinked twice, mostly unfazed by Silver's outburst.

"You're upset?" She asked, innocently.

"Damn right, I'm upset!" Silver said, loudly.

M-chan cringed, closing her eyes and looking down slightly.

"You're too reckless. You know this could've gone wrong in many ways and killed you both, yet you don't tell anyone about it, you just go ahead without thinking!"

"Well, excuse me! I was trying to help and I think I know a thing or too about that machine! I knew the risks, but I also knew the odds! Shadow and I are more then compatible enough for it to work!"

Silver looked surprised.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

M-chan faltered a bit.

"It doesn't matter. Forget it." She said, turning away.

"It does matter!" Silver said, grabbing M-chan's arm.

M-chan stopped but jerked her arm away, keeping her back to Silver.

"You've never questioned my abilities... not once, ever. There was no reason to tell you how or why I had them." M-chan said, looking down at her feet.

"It didn't matter. In case you didn't notice, I'm not exactly average either." Silver said, with a small smile.

"It matters now..." M-chan whispered.

Silver shook his head, turning M-chan to face him.

The serious and worried expression on M-chan's face surprised him, so he kept quiet.

"When Maria and Shadow were back on ARK, Shadow had gone through a lot of experiments... But several of ARK's projects didn't end after it was shut down." M-chan said, quietly.

Silver could barely process what M-chan said, it had several possible meanings and many weren't good.

"I was created from the human version of the project that created Shadow. Even from some of Shadow's DNA... enough to technically make us siblings. Shadow and me were similar enough genetically I knew changing us would work. I just... was hoping not to have to explain it. But, you being you of course knew enough to know the real risks." M-chan said, ending with a slight smile.

"Why didn't you tell me before? Why keep it a secret?" Silver asked.

"Why would I WANT to tell the story of my screwed up life? I've moved on, I have a REAL life now. But, with you over-reacting and Blaze chewing me out for not telling you-"

"Hold it, Blaze knew about this?!" Silver cut in, shocked.

M-chan nodded.

Silver shook his head in disbelief.

"Am I the only one who didn't know?" He asked.

"Blaze is the only one who knows about my past. You're the second one I've told, ever." M-chan said.

"What about the others? Aren't you going to tell them?" Silver asked, surprised she'd keep something like that from their friends.

M-chan nodded once.

"Yeah, but... I figured since you were so upset with me, that I should tell you first." She said.

Silver hugged M-chan, laughing quietly.

"Good logic..." He said, and kissed her on the cheek.

M-chan blushed slightly.

"So... what do you think of my hedgie form?" She asked.

Silver let go and looked her over.

"Just as beautiful as your human form." He said with a smile.

M-chan breathed a small sigh of relief.

"What? Did you think I'd prefer your human form?" Silver asked, with a small laugh.

"Well... Shadow fell for Maria, and then you fell for me... I had to wonder if being human was a factor, since it seemed to be a trend now." M-chan said, with a grin.

The two started laughing, and walked downstairs holding hands.

**_TO BE CONTINUED..._**

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Phew, done! Well, that felt like it took forever! Yes, I know how bad I am at posting chapters on time...

but it's _NOT_ my **_FAULT _THIS_ TIME!!!_** My internet was down!! It was so bad... I have no idea what happened!!

But, everything's okay for the moment. See you next chapter!


	28. To Colony Ark We Go! part 1

I'm back! Well, now you know why M-chan had to be a mystery for most of the story, there was too much the others didn't know about her. So, why should the readers know more? It would be cheating! :0

So, this chapter was going to be more about M-chan's past, but I decided I'd just post a separate one-shot about her to avoid getting further off the Shadow/Maria plot, I feel like I'm getting off it too much already. I'll let you know when the one-shot's finished... but then again, those who have me on Author Alert will know anyway ^-^

_**Notes: Oni-chan = Big Brother**_

Okay, on with the chapter

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_**Chapter 28: To Colony Ark We Go! part 1**_

After Shadow and Maria came downstairs, M-chan re-told her story to the group as they sat in the living room.

When M-chan was finished, they all sat in silence as they processed the new information.

"Well, that explains a few things." Knuckles said.

"So what? It doesn't change anything." Amy said, getting up from her seat next to Sonic and walking over to M-chan.

"I don't know why you didn't tell us sooner, though. Especially Silver." Amy said, placing a hand on M-chan's shoulder.

The newest hedgehog nodded once, looking down a bit.

"Yeah, I should've. But, I guess that's just me... Not doin' things the right way. Right,_ Oni-chan_?" M-chan said, sending a grin to Shadow.

Shadow couldn't help the small groan that came out of him.

"I'm still getting use to_ 'Shadow-kun'_, and now she's moved on to _'Oni-chan'_..." He mumbled.

M-chan pouted while the rest of the group laughed quietly.

As the laughter died a bit, the more serious topics started to come up.

"So, what do you two plan to do about going to Ark?" Amy asked, a little worried she was bringing up a sad topic.

Shadow and Maria looked at each other, Maria looking a little sad.

"We didn't have that developed of a plan to begin with. With the paparazzi stalking the house, and us, going to Ark now seems unlikely." Shadow said.

M-chan grinned.

"That's the best part of you being Human now. Once you and Maria are seem together out-and-about, the reporters will probably move on and start harassing some other celebrity. No one knows you as a human." She said.

Shadow and Maria shared a glance, and Maria shrugged.

"And of course..." Amy said, going over to Sonic and grabbing his arm.

"Once everyone sees Sonic and I on a real date, "Shadow's Mystery Human Girlfriend" will be forgotten. You'll be free to do what you want without reporters harassing you." Amy said as she sat next to Sonic.

Shadow shook his head.

"I doubt it's that simple, but it's worth a shot." He said.

"I vote we go into town tomorrow and start distracting people from the ShadMaria pairing. SonAmy here will go on a lunch date about the same time you two are out finishing up the shopping for Ark. That should at least split the reporters into two groups." M-chan said.

"And if _'Milver'_ makes an appearance in a third place, it might split them up even more." Amy said, with a giggle.

"Milver? Wha-" M-chan said, then the group burst into laughter.

Sonic nearly fell of the couch, while Maria had to lean on Shadow to keep from falling over.

"Milver?! That's the best you can come up with?" M-chan said, wiping laughing tears from her eyes as Silver turned red from lack of air as he laughed.

"I don't see you coming up with any suggestions! Oh, my poor stomach..." Amy said, holding her stomach and starting to moan quietly.

Once the laugher died down further, Rouge spoke up.

"Okay, so the plan is this: Sonic and Amy will go on a lunch date while Shadow and Maria get whatever supplies are left to get. Silver and M-chan, you two go with them then split up when things get hectic. In the meantime, Knuckles, Tails, Cream and myself will make sure we have a ship that'll actually make it to Ark and not draw too much attention in the process."

"Consider it done!" Tails and Cream said, both saluting M-chan.

"Sounds like a plan. So, tomorrow we put the plan into action. Here's hoping it works." M-chan said.

"Since when do you have less then 'It's gonna work put perfectly!' attitude?" Amy asked, a little skeptical.

"Since I don't wanna jinx us. Okay, who's up for a movie?" M-chan said, with a mischievous grin.

The rest of the group watched her skeptically.

"What title?" Knuckles asked, eyes narrowed.

M-chan walked over to the DVD shelves.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, you'll like it. I made it myself. _'Eggman's Greatest Failures: Explosions Edition'_!" M-chan said, holding a DVD above her head with a triumphant grin.

"What is that suppose to be?" Silver asked, confused.

"I put together news footage of Eggman's ships, robots and whatever else exploding and set part of it to music!" M-chan said.

"Sounds great! Roll tape!" Sonic said with a smile.

M-chan giggled as she put in the DVD and walking back over to the couch.

"Oh, and I'm pretty sure it has a collage of Sonic getting thrown around too." M-chan said, sitting down.

"Aw, man! You tricked me, didn't you?!" Sonic said, loudly.

"You bet, Blue boy!" M-chan said with a smile.

_**To Be Continued...**_

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Okay, another chapter wrapped up! Phew, believe me when I say my life just got _**MORE **_complicated lately... Between the other Fanfics I'm starting to work on, (I'll get you for this, _Plot Bunnies_!!) the AMVs I've been trying to finish for _**MONTHS,**_ _MBAC_'s soon-to-continued updates being pure stress, my website not wanting to co-operate, trying to get use to "Sony Vegas 8" (Why do people like that thing?!) and... _**:sigh:**_ getting distracted with fics I read... -_-;

Ack, next chapter up... around Oct 16.

**P.S.:** Milver = M-chan and Silver. _**LOL**_


	29. To Colony Ark We Go! part 2

Phew, I think I'm finally starting to get better at time management. Here's the key: Sleep Deprivation!  
Best thing to ever happen!! I've got more time to get everything done now!!

(Yes, I'm kidding. I don't encourage it... it's not fun.) And here's your monthly update!

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_**Chapter 29: To Colony Ark We Go! part 2**_

After the movie, which was more 'Best of Sonic Being Beat Up' montage, the group slowly split up for the night.

Sonic was still sulking over everyone laughing at him getting beat up, and seemed to be melting into the couch.

After several attempts by Amy and Tails to move him, they decided to let the blue hedgehog be.

Shadow and Maria headed upstairs as M-chan leaned over the back of the couch and poked Sonic in the head.

"I think he's dead. Poor Amy will be crushed to hear that." M-chan said, poking Sonic again with a grin.

"You! Your fault!" Sonic said, pointing at M-chan.

"Me? What ever could you mean?" M-chan asked, batting her eyes innocently.

"How could you...? I _**WON**_ all those fights, but you _**STILL**_ have all that footage of me being tossed around like a  
rag doll! I looked like a wimp!" Sonic said, loudly.

"It's not my fault all those reporters record most of your fights with Eggman. All I did was put it on DVD with  
music in the background." M-chan said, with a grin.

Sonic groaned quietly.

"You will pay for this. You watch your back from now on." He said.

"Ooh, I'm so scared." M-chan said, eyes narrowed.

Sonic swung a fist in M-chan's direction and missed by nearly a foot.

"I mean it! As soon as I can move you're in trouble." Sonic threatened.

"Silver-kun! Sonic's scaring me!" M-chan said, feigning fear.

Silver stifled a laugh from the stairs and leaned on the railing.

"Should I crush him with the other couch?" He asked, with a small smirk.

M-chan shook her head and hopped off the back of the couch and started up the stairs.

"Naw, not now anyway. But keep the option open." She said, as Silver put an arm around M-chan's waist.

"Like you would!" Sonic said, loudly.

Silver growled quietly and gestured to the other couch, making it float into the air.

"You sure about that?" Silver asked, with a Shadow-like smirk.

Sonic's eyes widened, and he bolted out of the room, causing M-chan to laugh hysterically.

"That'll teach him to threaten you." Silver said with a grin as he and M-chan started walking down the hall.

"Shame, shame Silver-kun... Scaring the poor blue hedgehog. I think he's traumatized now." M-chan said, still  
giggling quietly.

"Serves him right. Besides, he headed in the direction of Amy's room. Traumatized or not, Amy'll be thrilled to  
have him spending more time with her." Silver said.

M-chan thought for a bit then nodded.

"Yep. Well... That's assuming she won't want revenge for whatever damage was done to him." She said.

Silver slapped his forehead.

"I'm in trouble aren't I?"

"Dunno... 3, 2, 1..." M-chan said.

The two fell silent and all the house was quiet.

"You're safe. My 'Amy Rage' radar isn't picking up anything." M-chan said.

Silver sighed quietly.

"Milver 1, SonAmy 0." He said, then laughed with M-chan smacked his arm playfully.

Meanwhile, in Maria's room:

Shadow and Maria were curled up together and talking.

"I really hope this plan works." Shadow said.

"I think it will. Besides, they might not even recognize me. I doubt they'd recognize you now that you're human."  
Maria said, with a laugh.

"Good point. No one else knows I changed, and with Ark shut down, no one even knows it's possible." Shadow said.

"Right." Maria said with a smile.

Shadow nodded, but looked a little worried.

"What's wrong?" Maria asked.

"I just... no, it's nothing to worry about." Shadow said with a small shake of his head.

Maria narrowed her eyes, not quite believing him.

"Really, it's nothing. I would tell you if it was serious." Shadow said.

Maria still looked skeptical, but nodded.

"That's not exactly true, but I'll let it go for now." She said, resting her head on Shadow's shoulder.

"Good-night, Shadow." Maria said, stifling a yawn.

"Good-night, Maria." Shadow said, quietly and kissed her on the forehead.

The former hedgehog sighed quietly as Maria fell asleep.

'No one knows about the genetic experiments on Ark besides the few who know about me. Even then, they don't have  
the data on everything. But, there is one person who has access to every file the Professor worked on...' Shadow thought.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Yes it's a bit shorter then usual, _BUT!_ The next chapter should make up for it, _hehehehe_...  
It will _**FINALLY**_ answer the question: Who or what is KINA?! As well as feature Eggman.  
Yep, hadn't seen him in a while, have we? I need to get started on that so... See ya' next time!


	30. To Colony Ark We Go! part 3

Yes, I know it's late... _Very_ late in fact... Bad internet connection, swamped with other projects and mourning the loss of _Shojo Beat_ takes a lot out of a person... Well, it's updated now, lol

On _Deviant Art's_ version of this story, someone suggested covering what happened with Sonic and Amy...  
So, this chapter took a different turn in the beginning then planned.

So, here's your update and I'll see you in... I hope before 2010!

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**_Chapter 30: To Colony Ark We Go! part 3_**

The next morning, Amy woke up with Sonic still in her room.

She smiled slightly at the way Sonic had his arm around her waist.

'He acted like he thought Silver might attack him during the night, but I doubt that was entirely true.' Amy thought.

_**(FLASHBACK)**_

Amy was rolling up the sleeves of her pink and blue hearts pajama top when Sonic dashed into her room and locked  
the door behind him.

"Sonic what're-" Amy was cut off by Sonic running over and hugging her.

Amy blushed and smiled slightly.

"Sonic, I know we've known each other for years, but we haven't been dating that long-"

"Amy! Ya' gotta hide me! Silver's tryin' to kill me!" Sonic said, loudly.

"What?" Amy asked, surprised.

"M-chan and I were arguing about that stupid video she made and Silver threw the couch at me!" Sonic said, moving  
to stand behind Amy.

"Silver? _Silver _tried to kill you? Because you were arguing with M-chan? That doesn't sound like him." Amy said, a little confused and turned to face Sonic.

"That's what happened! I don't want to be alone tonight... He might attack me during the night." Sonic said, going back to Amy's door and looking around.

"That's why you came here?" Amy asked, a little disappointed.

"Yeah. I figure if Silver attacks, we can take him. And with your intuition, you'll see him coming in time." Sonic said.

Amy shrugged and went over to her closet.

Sonic's eyes narrowed slightly as Amy got out an extra blanket and pillow.

"Why'd you think I came here?" He asked.

Amu tensed slightly.

"N-no reason..." she said.

Sonic shrugged his shoulders and sat on the side on Amy's bed.

"I should make you sleep on the floor, but since you're in fear for you life I'll let you share the bed. Just don't try anything!" Amy said, throwing the pillow at Sonic.

"I won't!" Sonic said, holding his hands up then putting the pillow beside Amy's on the bed.

He kicked off his shoes and hid under the blanket Amy had tossed him.

Amy smiled slightly and got into bed.

Sonic, still under the blanket, scooted closer to Amy.

"What're you doing?" Amy asked, a little irritated.

"If Silver tries to attack, maybe he'll think I'm an extra blanket or pillow and leave if I'm like this." Sonic said, quietly.

Amy shook her head with a sigh, but said nothing.

"Good night, Sonic." Amy said, laying down.

"Shhh... I'm just a bulky blanket." Sonic said, quietly.

Amy sighed and rolled her eyes as she flipped off the lights.

"Good night, Amy." Sonic whispered.

"I think I heard Sonic, but he's not in here. Whatever could it be?" Amy said, feigning innocence.

"Haha." Sonic said quietly.

Amy giggled and turned onto her left side, before covering herself with her blanket.

_**(End Flashback)**_

Sonic yawned and sat up, eyes only half open.

"Silver didn't kill me, that's good." He said looking around.

"The plan worked." Amy said, with a smile.

"Yep. Maybe he wasn't as mad as I thought... Oh well." Sonic said, stretching.

The blue hedgehog started putting his shoes on as Amy got up and put away the extra blanket and pillow.

Suddenly, Sonic hugged Amy from behind.

"Thanks for letting me stay with you." He said as Amy blushed.

"N-no problem." Amy said, a little embarrassed.

"See ya' downstairs." Sonic said, and kissed Amy on the cheek before walking out the door.

Amy smiled, hugging herself and twirling twice with a giggle.

_**Meanwhile:**_

M-chan and the rest of the group, minus Sonic and Amy, were in the kitchen and dining room when M-chan noticed  
Silver was still upstairs.

She skipped back up the stairs to Silver's room and knocked before opening the door.

"Silver-kun, everyone's already downstairs... Where'd you go?" M-chan said when she realized Silver wasn't in bed

"Be out in a second. The quills don't want to co-operate today." Silver said from his bathroom.

"Seriously? It looks that way on purpose?" M-chan asked, with a laugh as she walked over to Silver's bed.

"You making fun of my style?" Silver asked.

"No, no I wouldn't dream of it." M-chan laughed again.

M-chan heard Silver mock laugh and sat down on the bed and she spotted something sticking out from under  
Silver's pillow.

Picking up said pillow, M-chan realized a plushie was under it.

The plushie was a red-ish/brown haired, brown eyed girl in a blue dress, pink headband (worn like Amy's) and black shoes.

"Kawaii! I would think it was a bit girly for Silver though..." M-chan said to herself.

"What'd you sa-AGH!" Silver ended the sentence in a shriek, coming out of his bathroom.

"Oh, don't look so horrified. So you've got a plushie, everyone does. Soooo not a big deal." M-chan said.

"Uh..." Silver started to say as M-chan turned the plushie slightly.

She noticed there was something stitched onto the plush's headband.

"Ki-na... Kina. So, that's it's name." M-chan said with a smile.

A look of realization mixed with confusion came over M-chan's face as she turned to Silver.

"Kina? This... is the Kina that Blaze was threatening to tell me about?" M-chan asked.

Silver nodded once as he looked down at his feet.

M-chan laughed as she walked over and hugged Silver, 'Kina' still in hand.

"That is too funny! Unless there's some scandalous story behind how you got this plush, Blaze has held this over  
your head for nothing." She said.

Silver laughed quietly.

"No, nothing too scandalous. Years ago, Blaze and I got into some stupid fight about... I don't even remember  
what, and somehow we ended up in a plush making contest. I won, Blaze stitched in the name though." Silver said.

"Now that that's out in the open, Blaze doesn't have anything to hold over your head. That's almost sad really."  
M-chan said.

Silver looked a little nervous.

"Or does she...? Anything you wanna tell me?" M-chan asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Not really. It's nothing serious, just embarrassing." Silver said.

"Uh-huh..." M-chan said, not quite believing him.

"Maybe Kina will tell me." She said with a grin and held up the plushie to her ear.

"Uh-huh, really? You don't mean it...! He said that? Really?!" M-chan said, walking off with the plush.

"Ha-ha..." Silver said, sarcastically as he followed.

_**Meanwhile:**_

Eggman stared at the screen as the computer beeped.

"It can't be... It's impossible."

"Data analysis complete. Facial recognition complete. Identity confirmed." A female, computer-like voice said.

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

Hmmm, I wonder what Eggman's up to now... Again, this chapter was long over due... I'm going to try to have the next one done by... :sigh: I don't know -_-; My advice is to add this to _Story Alert_ for FFN, Add me to your _Watch list_ on DA... or sign up for the mailing list on my website if you don't have an account with FFN or DA.

Next chapter posted ASAP! See ya' then!

P.S.: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!


	31. Complicated Day

Hello all! _:audience boos:_ ...Yeah... Obviously I owe you all an explanation...

It has been driving me crazy that I couldn't update this story, you have no idea how I torture myself over it...

I had a virus hit my computer hard right after Christmas last year and it caused problems so bad that it's  
just now acting normal... after my computer crashed completely...

Before my computer crashed, I'd run programs I thought killed the virus, only to have it re-activated itself  
when it connected to the internet it again. (_LITERALLY,_ within 60 seconds!)  
The virus prevented some files from opening and I was scared out of my mind that I'd lose everything so all I  
could do was run scans and back up my files and pray nothing was lost.  
When I finally got a break from the virus, I was able to post a vid and update a chapter for my other story,  
(at separate times) only to have **ANOTHER** virus attack me!

Combine all that with a small case of writers block and you get not updating for an unacceptably long time. Maybe since it's Christmas Eve you can find it in your hearts to forgive me? Please...?

The only upside to all this is I'm now a bit more patient when it comes to the stories I read not being updated  
on a regular basis. Time really does get away from you sometimes.

The virus (for the most part) seems to be gone after I re-booted the hard-drive.  
(T^T I had to re-install **_EVERYTHING_**) _:whew:_ Though I had back ups of my files, so I didn't lose much data.

Now, since I've neglected this story for so long, I say we get this chapter started! :)

Enjoy the chapter!

BTW, I'll explain Maria's last name in the ending authors note.

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**_Chapter 31: Complicated Day_**

"But... how?" Eggman said, in shock as he stared at the computer screen.

"Facial recognition complete, identity confirmed." Said a robotic female voice.

**_"Maria Gerald"_**

_"Calculate the odds of a mis-identification." Eggman ordered the computer._

"Age discrepancy and other factors cause a 15% chance of mis-identification. DNA text required for 100%  
identification." The robot voice said.

"This... was not what I expected at all. There's an obvious resemblance, but... I thought she might be related to  
Maria somehow but this..." Eggman rambled to himself.

'She couldn't have survived... even if she had, she'd be in her 60s... not a 16 year old girl. So, Shadow either  
found a way to bring Maria back to life... or maybe some kind of time travel to save her before she died...  
Assuming Maria DID survive, maybe he found a way to restore her youth.' Eggman thought.

Typing a few keys on keyboard, Eggman smiled slightly.

'Either way, this is something to look into.' He thought.

_**MEANWHILE: The group was planning on how to get out of house without being noticed.**_

Well, arguing about it may describe it better.

"If the idea is to distract the paparazzi, then why don't Sonic and Amy go out the front door? They'd be spotted  
immediately." Tails said.

"That's the problem. Yeah, they'd be an easy distraction but they'd be all but trapped. It would be impossible  
to get through the reporters." M-chan said.

"No problem, I'll just run around through the back way before they know what hit 'em." Sonic said, leaning back  
against the couch.

"And risk giving away our back-up exit? I don't think so!" M-chan said.

"If they weren't human we could just plow through 'em." Knuckles said.

"Obviously that's not an option so what else can we do?" Amy asked.

The group fell silent until...

Sonic jumped up from the couch, and started running in place.

"Here's the plan: Knuckles and Silver, make sure those front doors are open. Amy, grab whatever bag you're  
taking with you." The blue hedgehog said.

"What're you gonna do?" M-chan asked, a little worried.

Sonic smirked as he picked up Amy, then his feet picked up speed.

"Going around is risky, and going through won't work. So the only other options are over and under.  
Going under them would take too long so we're goin' over."

"And how are you going to do that exactly?" Shadow asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You'll see. On my signal, open those front doors." Sonic said with a smirk.

Knuckles shrugged as he and Silver walked to the front doors.

"You better know what you're doing." M-chan said.

"Or what? You'll sick your boyfriend on me again?" Sonic said with a smirk.

"Wouldn't have to. I can beat you up any day." M-chan said, crossing her arms.

"I don't doubt it." Amy chimed in.

"Hey, who's side are you on?" Sonic asked.

"Both." Amy said sweetly.

"Any time guys." Knuckles said, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah yeah..."

Sonic adjusted Amy in his arms and ran in place faster.

"Now!" He said, as he bolted to the front door.

Silver and Knuckles opened the doors just in time and Sonic dashed right through them.

The rest of the group watched as Sonic jumped over the near ten foot fence and continued down the street as  
the reporters and paparazzi scrambled to there vans and cars to follow the pink and blue blur.

"I can't believe he did that." Silver said, his mouth slightly open in shock.

"I can't believe that worked!" M-chan said, with a grin.

"Come on, this is our chance to get out of here." Knuckles said.

"I guess we'll go out the front door since it's clear now." Maria said with a giggle.

M-chan shook her head.

"Nope, you two go out the back way. They don't know about Shadow being human, and while I seriously doubt they  
would figure it out, the last thing we need to do is give them any reason to suspect something."

"Right." Shadow and Maria nodded.

"See you when you get back." Tails said, with a wave.

Tails and Cream were meeting Rouge and Knuckles to work on the plans to get to Ark.

As Shadow and Maria headed out the back way, M-chan looked around the front of the house.

Satisfied the reporters were gone, she nodded to Maria and 4 walked out their separate doors.

Rouge had a car and driver waiting for the group down the street.

**_ABOUT 15 MINUTES LATER:_ _Shadow and the others got to the shopping center and M-chan called Amy._**

"This place is a mad house!" Amy said loudly.

"Paparazzi again?" M-chan asked surprised.

"No, the fans! Everyone's gone berserk over Sonic and me being together!" Amy practically yelled.

"Good berserk or bad berserk?" M-chan giggled.

"Both! We're currently running from them. We're headed to 'Lorelai's', the security there should be able to stop  
these crazy people." Amy said.

M-chan laughed. "That's what you get for dating a celeb."

"Hey, I resent that! I'm a celebrity too! They're just upset that I settled for Sonic!" Amy said.

"Hey!" Sonic said, offended.

Amy and M-chan hung up laughing.

"What's so funny?" Silver asked.

"SonAmy's being chased by crazy fans and me and Amy couldn't help making a joke." M-chan said with a grin.

Silver raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Speaking of crazy fans... We've been noticed." Shadow said quietly.

M-chan and the others covertly glanced around.

"Yeah, I figured it wouldn't be long. You two get out of here while you can." M-chan said, quietly.

"Are you two sure you'll be alright? A crowd of fans can be dangerous." Maria said, worriedly.

"You're talking to _ME_, remember? I helped make Shadow human, already survived one set of crazy fans and you doubt my abilities?" M-chan said in mock irritation.

M-chan ran behind Silver and lifted his arms.

"And did I mention my boyfriend can _FLY_? I think we're good. You two on the other hand..."

"Shadow is little different then a normal human now. You two are the ones I'm worried about. Now, get going  
before we have to explain who you are and how we know each other." M-chan whispered.

Shadow and Maria nodded then jogged away from the two hedgehogs.

"Do you really think they'll be alright on their own?" Silver asked.

M-chan nodded, closing her eyes with a small smile.

"They'll be fine..."

'But, something does feel off... I just don't know what it is.' M-chan thought.

_TO BE CONTINUED..._

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**  
Things are really going to be heating up from now on...  
I've always had an issue with Eggman's _"real"_ last name... I've never believed that :shudders: "Robotnic" was  
in _ANY way _Japanese cannon. To me, that name represents a version of Eggman that is an incompetent idiot.  
I went back and played _"Sonic Adventure"_ in Japanese and Eggman calls himself "Doctor Eggman-sama".  
I don't believe the reason the name is different in Japan is due to a nickname that somehow didn't transfer to  
the US, (as hinted by Yuji Naka) when that 'nickname' dates back to 1990, before the game was even released.  
It makes no sense to me.  
Combine that with her grandfather usually being called "Professor Gerald"... and there you go. Mini-rant over.

I've yet to play "Sonic Adventure 2" in Japanese, but I suspect the "R" name isn't in that either.

Small note about M-chan's one-shot: Still working on it! ...I just don't remember where I saved the file...

I hope to be able to update in 2 or 3 weeks but... I can't make promises...

_**IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE:**_ To the people who've tried to Note/PM me there Email, FFN is really weird about posting links/emails and it won't show up. If you want to get an email when I update and are not an FFN member, sign up on my website (link on my profile)

Merry Christmas and Happy Hollidays everybody! Ja-ne', minna-san. (See ya', everyone)


	32. Disastrous Day part 1

Hello again, my patient fans (^-^;) I can't believe I'm actually typing this... It seems like forever since I've  
gotten _ANYTHING_ on this story done, but fortunately, I'm in a typing mood and I've got time to type at the same time for a change!

Well, it's mostly ShadMaria fluffy stuff in this chapter, and I know you're anxious to get to the chapter so...  
be sure to read the 'End notes'. Here we go!

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**_Chapter 32: Disastrous Day (part 1)_**

Maria glanced around nervously as she and Shadow made their way through the crowd.

Shadow noticed this and smiled slightly, taking Maria's hand.

Leaning down slightly, Shadow whispered, "Don't worry Maria. No one recognizes us." in Maria's ear.

Maria blushed slightly, before nodding once.

"Yes, but that could change at any moment. We should hurry." She said, quietly.

Shadow's smile faded, he knew Maria was right. Just one person recognizing Maria could cause another media frenzy.

Shadow squeezed Maria's hand slightly as the two started walking faster through the crowd.

_**MEANWHILE**_: **_On the other side of town..._**

Amy laughed quietly at a joke Sonic said as her cell phone started ringing.

"Hey, M-chan. We're fine... oops, there goes another TV station van." Amy said, looking out the large window next to their table.

"Somehow the paparazzi keep passing us." Sonic said, as Amy put the phone on speaker.

"They keep passing you? They haven't seen you yet?" M-chan asked, over the phone.

"Slowly but surely they've been arriving and driving right by. Sonic and I were thinking about heading to our next location." Amy said.

"Just be sure you don't make it too obvious about wanting to be followed. The last thing we want is for them to suspect something." M-chan said.

"Yeah, we're being careful. How're things on your end?" Amy said.

"Things are fine here. ShadMaria are off shopping and we should be done here soon." M-chan said.

M-chan and Silver had checked in on Rouge and the others about the ship Tails is working on for the trip to ARK. Everything was going according to plan, until...

M-chan noticed a news van passing her and Silver, headed towards the mall they had left Shadow and Maria.

"Oh crap... That's not a good sign." M-chan said quietly.

_**MEANWHILE: Shadow and Maria were walking around the mall.**_

Shadow was carrying two shopping bags in one hand, and holding Maria's hand in the other.

Maria was about to call M-chan on the cell phone M-chan had given her before they split up when she stopped suddenly

Shadow stopped, noticing Maria was stairing at one of the shop windows. Following Maria's gaze, he saw a 'Sale' sign next to rows of dresses and various accessories.

Smiling slightly, Shadow starting walking towards the shop and pulling Maria with him.

"Come on, you might need a disquise later if the media gets bad again." Shadow said.

"Wait, Shadow no. That place looks expensive..." Maria said, pulling back slightly.

"You let me worry about that. Besides, it is a sale." Shadow said with a smirk.

Maria smiled slightly, following Shadow into the shop. She was imediatly drawn to a blue dress, similar to the  
favorite dress she wore on ARK all those years ago.

Maria chose 3 dresses, two knee lenght V neck in pink and blue, then one red wrap dress before heading to the dressing room.

Shadow sat down on a bench next to the dressing rooms while he waited for Maria.

About 5 minutes later, Maria came out in the red wrap dress, and stunning Shadow.

"Whoa... You look great." Shadow said, standing up.

"Really? It's not too-"

"No, it looks great on you." Shadow said with a smile.

Maria blushed slightly with a smile. "Okay, well... I still have 2 more to try on."

The blonde went back into the dressing room. When she came back out, she was in the pink dress.

"Wow... You look great." Shadow said

"That's what you said about the red one." Maria said with a giggle.

"Well, I like this one too." Shadow said, smiling.

Maria smiled as she shook her head as she returned to the dressing room.

When she came back out a couple of minutes later, she was in the blue dress.

"You always do look best in blue, Maria." Shadow said, with a smile.

Maria giggled quietly, "You made a rhyme."

Shadow made a face, shaking his head slightly. "Yes I did, didn't I?"

Shadow signaled to the sales clerk, "Wrap up the other two dresses, she'll wear this one out."

"No, Shadow no, they're too expensive." Maria protested, as the clerk took the other dresses to the counter.

"No, they're not. Don't worry about it. What's the point in working for GUN if I can't spoil you a little?" Shadow  
asked.

Maria looked surprised, "You work for... GUN? Why... would you work for them?"

"Because they've changed. I intend to make sure it stays that way." Shadow said, quietly.

Then, something occurred to Shadow: he was human now. Now that he was human, his powers were gone.  
Without his powers, GUN had no use for him. Meaning he could no longer keep an eye on them from the inside.  
That was one of the downsides of being human that Shadow had not considered before.

But still, Maria was more than worth it.

"Shadow? Are you all right?" Maria asked.

Shadow shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Yes, I'm fine."

After buying Maria's dresses, the couple left the store and Maria dialed M-chan's number.

"Hey there everything all right?" M-chan asked, slightly worried.

"Yes everything's fine here. What's wrong?" Maria asked.

"Well... Yes and no... There's been like... Four or five vans heading your direction, reporter's vans.  
That's... A little worrisome." M-chan said.

Just then, someone yelled something incoherent from a distance as a shadow appeared over the skylight.

**_Meanwhile:_**

Eggman was re-reading some of his grandfather's Journal entries, as the Egg Carrier drifted across the skies.

Somehow, the ship had been taken off autopilot, and was aimlessly sailing.

By the time Eggman noticed this, the ship was already above the mall in Station Square.

Just as he'd set a new course, he noticed one of the monitors was on the crowd below.

For some odd reason, a couple standing off by themselves caught his attention...

There was nothing extraordinary about them, but nonetheless, something seemed different about them.

After zooming in on the couple, Eggman noticed the girl... Blonde hair, blue eyes, blue dress...  
She looked just like Maria...

"It can't be..." Eggman mumbled, typing on the keyboard.

Eggman ran a facial recognition scan on the girl, who turned out to be a match for the girl he had seen on TV the day before.

"Well, well, well... Isn't this convenient?"

Now the question was: where was shadow? If this girl really was Maria, then where was he?

Deciding the other humans were no threat, Eggman chose to investigate himself by using his personal "flight egg", instead of sending down robots.

Meanwhile: Shadow and Maria watched as the egg carrier floated above the city, worried about what would happen next.

Shadow especially was on edge, this was the last thing they needed right now.

"Shadow... What is that thing?" Maria asked nervously.

Not knowing how to answer, Shadow just held Maria tighter. Eggman was Maria's only living relative, that he knew of.  
How could Shadow tell her Eggman was trying to conquer the world?

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

A/N: It took me second to do decide if egg carrier was one word or two in the Sonic games. I believe that it's two words, but I can't say for certain.  
About Eggman's "flight egg", I have no idea what to call the thing he flies around in… You know, that little  
personal plane looking thing that he uses to escape sometimes... If you played a sonic game or watch _Sonic X_, I'm sure you know what I'm referring to...  
Well, my updates are horrible... I still haven't done the blog I wanted to do and I've got all kinds of  
projects that have been suffering, my stories most of all.  
I've been working on several projects that have been taking a lot more time then I ever thought they would.  
You guys are probably pretty upset with me over the lack of updates, but I have a very strong feeling that a  
couple of these projects might make up for it. :) Please be patient with me. ^-^ See you next update.


	33. AN Dead Laptop Dead Projects

Well, my laptop is currently in a coma, so maybe its not quite dead yet... but I'm going to have to replace/fix it!  
The worst part is I can't afford it! **T-T** It sucks to be me!  
So, to make matters worse, EVERYTHING was on my laptop! My MMD stuff, my vids, my pics, fanfics,  
**_MBAC_** and **_MP&M_** pages... everything. I **_DID_** back up pretty much everything, but the desktop  
(the computer I'm on right now) is in **NO WAY** capable of doing what I need it to do. Watching Youtube is a stretch of it's capabilities.

_:hides under covers and cries uncontrollably:_

I'd love to update my stories...  
but my laptop's in a coma  
and I've lost all access to my files  
my desktop is horribly slow  
and I'm not sure I can afford a new one on Black Friday.

It sucks to be me  
It sucks to be me  
It sucks that my computer died, therefore limiting my creativity  
It sucks to be me! T-T

I'll update you all when/if I get my laptop fixed or replaced. Your patients is greatly appreciated.


End file.
